NM NM - Esther Valdez, 17, Chama, 7 Sept 1984

The Doe Network:
Case File 2430DFNM

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2430dfnm.html

Esther Valdez
Missing since September 7, 1984 from Chama, New Mexico
Classification: Endangered Missing



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Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: March 26, 1967
Age at Time of Disappearance: 17 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'11"; 110 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Hispanic female. Brown hair; bown eyes.
Marks, Scars: She has a scar. Ester only has one ear that is pierced.


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Circumstances of Disappearance
Esther Valdez was last seen by her friend on a Friday in September 7, 1984.
Esther Valdez and an older man came to the friends home to invite her to go camping. She said no and they left.
That's the last time she saw Esther.



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Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

New Mexico State Police
505-827-9126
505-827-9300

NCMEC #: NCMC1086978

Source Information:
My Space
KRQE
NCMEC

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/v/valdez_esther.html
Much more details at Charley Project.

http://www.myspace.com/esther_valdez

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kkJkRYJd4c

This news story was broadcast in July 2005.

Esther is *not* listed in NamUs at this time.

No archived articles found for Esther at this time.

Esther has been missing almost 26 years. Come home soon sweetie.

New Poster with age progression
http://www.missingkids.com/missingk...seNum=1086978&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US

I've been working hard to get the cold case detectives to keep up with my aunts case. When she went missing my grandmother called the sheriffs office for several weeks trying to file a missing persons report, and she was dismissed each time by the Rio Arriba County Sheriff. He would tell her "she's just a teenager, she'll be back." I got her listed with NCMEC, after years and years of being ignored. I have copies of several police reports with "statements" of people who say they were present when she was murdered, yet nothing was ever done with the information, (it also took me several years to get this information, they said in 2006 they had a suspect and didn't want me tipping him off.) At this point I feel like I've hit a brick wall and don't know what else to do.

Marietta Valdez

msmylove, consider contacting a moderator to become a verified insider on your aunt's case.

This is a great site with super people. IF there is information, someone here will find it!

Best wishes to you & your Aunt & your family,

:seeya:

I wonder what exactly is meant by "older man"? Esther was 17 - at that age, a 20-year-old is an "older man." Or, it could actually be someone in their thirties, forties or older, in which case, it begs the question as to why he would want to go camping with a teenager. Did Esther perhaps have an older boyfriend?

Charley Project says that Esther was scheduled to be a witness in an upcoming trial. Sadly, I think this is most likely the cause of her disappearance. I'd like to think that she just ran off of her own volition, but I've read too many stories about people set to testify who mysteriously never made it to the stand.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Esther's namus page. 6 uid rule-outs

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Esther, circa 1984; Age-progression to age 49 (circa 2016)

• Missing Since 09/07/1984
• Missing From Chama, New Mexico
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Hispanic
• Date of Birth 03/26/1967 (56)
• Age 17 years old
• Height and Weight 4'11, 110 pounds
• 
  
• Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Esther has one ear pierced. She has burn scars under her right arm and on the right side of her neck. Some agencies spell her name "Ester."

Details of Disappearance​

Esther was last seen after school in Chama, New Mexico on September 7, 1984. She and her best friend, Cindy Redwine, picked up their paychecks from the Branding Iron restaurant, where they worked as dishwashers, and then drank whiskey and visited the grave of Esther's baby sister, who had died several years earlier.

At the gravesite, Esther told Redwine she loved her parents and tired of hurting them. The friends separated afterwards. At approximately midnight, Esther went to Redwine's house, accompanied by an older man. They invited her to go camping. Redwine refused and told Esther not go either. Esther and her male friend left in the man's Bronco.

Esther has never been heard from again, but a few days later, her wallet was found in Chama. There were possible sightings of her in Colorado and the New Mexico cities of Albuquerque and Farmington after her disappearance, but none of these reports were confirmed.

Redwine stated she knew the man Esther was last seen with and asked him where she had gone, and he said he had left her at Redwine's house. She told him she knew his story was untrue, and he denied having harmed her.

This individual apparently left the Albuquerque area sometime after Esther's disappearance. He has not been publicly identified.

At the time of her disappearance, Esther was scheduled to appear as a witness in the trial of a bar owner. He had been cited for allowing her into Ben's Lounge when she was underage. She disappeared before the trial took place.

It is unclear whether Esther's scheduled testimony has anything to do with her disappearance. However, after she went missing, her family and friends heard rumors that she was murdered at a party at Ben's Lounge on the night she vanished.

Esther was a student at Escalante High School in 1984, and had five younger siblings. She dreamed of becoming a beautician. She drank occasionally and dated older men, and she had previously run away from home for short periods, but she has never been gone for this long. Her case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency​

• New Mexico State Police
• 505-827-9126
• 505-827-9300

Source Information​

• The Doe Network
• The Albuquerque Journal
• MySpace Page for Esther Valdez
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• NamUs

Updated 5 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated August 16, 2016; age-progression updated.

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available; teeth #18 & 19 are missing
Fingerprints: Unavailable
DNA: Available