Investigators confirmed the body found Thursday in a field off
of Buena Vista Road was Ralph Santos, who had been missing for more
than a week.
Investigators confirmed the body found Thursday in a field off of Buena Vista Road was Ralph Santos, who had been missing for more than a week.
Medical examiners made a positive identification during an autopsy Friday morning.
However, the autopsy was ruled inconclusive and did not give investigators a definitive cause of what killed the retired pastor, police said. With no obvious signs of foul play, there will be additional tests done to try to pinpoint what caused Santos’ death, investigators said.
A task force, made up of the Hollister Police Department, San Benito County Sheriff’s Department, the Gilroy Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investi-gation stepped up the search for two suspects in the homicide investigation with the release of a police artist’s sketch.
The first suspect is described as a heavy-set white female who is 35 to 40 years old and weighs about 180 to 200 pounds with platinum blonde curly hair.
The second suspect is described as a thin Hispanic male who is 35 to 40 years old wearing “dirty” clothes similar to that of a mechanic, police said. The suspect was last seen wearing a dark colored baseball cap, a dark shirt and had several days of growth of facial hair but not a full beard.
Along with the suspects, the task force is trying to find a red 2002 Kia Optima that belonged to Santos. He was last seen alive on the evening of June 10 at about 11 p.m. with the two unidentified suspects.
“This individual had been reported as a high-risk missing person partially because it was totally out of character for him to not return home, not go to a graduation for family members and not to participate in the church that he belongs to,” Hollister Police Chief Larry Todd said.
Since Santos’ disappearance was made public, police received numerous calls and investigators have been following up on those leads, police said.
However, it wasn’t until some agricultural workers went to check a well near a 50-acre field of mustard seed plants that Santos’ body was discovered. As they walked through the field of mustard seed plants, they found the body near a pump, police said.
“But for these individuals going out into that field, it could have been months or years that the body would have gone undiscovered,” Todd said.
Hollister police have come under fire from Santos’ family members, who accuse the department of not pursuing the case aggressively enough.
The family could not be reached for comment over the weekend.
Todd said he understands that the case is a highly emotional issue for the family, but he insists that the department did everything it could to solve the case.
“This is a large, extended family and they are legitimately concerned about their loved one,” Todd said. “I thoroughly understand their concerns and understand the grieving that they are going through.”
