A month and a half after the disappearance of Deysi Benitez and the discovery of her family dead in their Hillcrest home, Frederick police have a lead that indicates Benitez is alive and in counseling.Police have interviewed several people who said they learned from a distant relative of Benitez that she fled to Central America with a friend and is now in counseling to cope with the murder of her four children and her husband's suicide, said Lt. Tom Chase of the Frederick Police Department. Police tracked down the relative, who denied knowledge of her whereabouts to police, according to Chase. There have been no confirmed sightings of Benitez, 25, since she was last seen by a neighbor March 18. Chase would not say whether she left with a man or woman, but said police believe she fled the area prior to the deaths of her children and husband. Police are still considering the possibility that Benitez is deceased, but Chase said this tip "provides some form of indication that she is alive." Frederick police continue to work with the FBI on Benitez's whereabouts. Special Agent Richard Wolf referred comment to Chase. Benitez and her deceased husband, Pedro Rodriguez, 28, came to the U.S. from El Salvador about six years ago with their daughter, Elsa, 9. Officials have determined Rodriguez killed his four children, Elsa; Vanessa, 4; Angel, 3; and Carena, 1, before hanging himself. Their bodies were discovered March 26 at their Danielle Drive townhouse.
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