In a dramatic breakthrough, a suspect has been arrested a quarter of a century after a young woman vanished from a department store car park and was later found murdered in the Californian desert.
A Night Shift That Ended in Tragedy
Suzanne Sites-Fenton was 32 years old when she disappeared on the night of Friday, 13 April 2001. She had been working a late shift at a Mervyn's store in Victorville, California. During a break, she stepped out into the car park and was never seen alive again.
Her worried husband reported her missing the following day, Saturday 14 April 2001, when she failed to return home. Detectives swiftly located her abandoned vehicle, which bore signs of a violent struggle. Shortly afterwards, her body was discovered in a "desolate" area of the Mojave Desert near Hesperia.
A Case Gone Cold for Decades
The investigation revealed a harrowing sequence of events. Authorities determined that Sites-Fenton had been kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and shot dead. Despite intensive efforts, detectives at the time could not identify a perpetrator, and the trail went cold.
For over two decades, the case remained unsolved, a haunting mystery for the victim's family and the investigating officers. That changed last year when the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department's dedicated cold case unit re-examined the evidence.
Justice Served After 25 Years
The renewed investigation culminated in an arrest on Thursday, 15 January 2026. Raymond Silva Gonzalez, 51, from Hesperia, was taken into custody and charged with murder. He is currently being held without bail and is scheduled for a court appearance.
This arrest marks a significant victory for cold case investigators and brings a long-awaited measure of closure to a tragic chapter. The sheriff's department has urged anyone with further information to come forward by calling 909-890-4904 or submitting an anonymous tip via wetip.com.
