Today marks one week since 24-year-old Angel Murguia-Martinez walked away from his Ukiah home late into the evening and disappeared. Despite attempts to find him by family, friends, and authorities, his whereabouts remain unknown.
Chelsie Martinez, Angel’s Murguia-Martinez’s sister-in-law, has been speaking with the media and law enforcement since his disappearance. In hopes of providing clarity to the circumstances surrounding her brother-in-law’s disappearance, she provided a comprehensive timeline of the case up to this point.
On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2024, Murguia-Martinez left home and his “mom tried to follow as he had been drinking and she did not want him to leave. She was in her slippers and could not keep up so she went back to the apartment to grab her keys and then to her car to get Angel and bring him back home.” Despite her attempts to drive around and find him, “She lost Angel on the road leading out of Village Circle. She drove around and could not locate him in the car.”
Around 10:00 a.m. the following day, Murguia-Martinez’s brother contacted Ukiah Police by phone concerned his brother had not returned and “his behavior the night before was unusual and not like him.” Shortly after the phone call, Murguia-Martinez’s mother found a “suicide letter in his room” prompting his mom, dad, and sister to visit the police department in person to file a report.
While filing the report, Angel’s sister attempted to show the officers a photograph of the suicide note on her smartphone which the officer reportedly responded “they could not read the letter because they could not understand it.”
Later that evening around 10:00, Chelsie Martinez said the family was talking about what could have happened to Angel when they discovered that one of his firearms was missing. Up to that point, Chelsie said, “I had assumed the police had a copy of the letter and pictures of Angel. That is when his sister told me that they did not make copies of the note or request any pictures of him.” At that point, Chelsie proceeded to call Ukiah Police to update them on “the missing firearm and ask why they didn’t take copies of these things.”
When she spoke with an officer that night, she was sent a link that allowed her to upload a digital image of the letter and pictures of Angel which she completed “right away.”
On February 16, two days after Angel walked away from home, we released our first article on his disappearance and a Ukiah Police officer contacted his family to formally file a full missing person report. When Chelsie asked the officer about the possibility of deploying search and rescue to help find her brother, the officer directed her to reach out to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office for any assistance.
On February 17, Chelsie provided the investigating officer a list of her brother-in-law’s closest friends’ contact information and his SnapChat information to aid in the investigation into his disappearance. She requested officers review FLOCK cameras positioned in the area “to see if we had any footage to see which direction Angel was heading in.”
February 18 marked a significant day for momentum in the case. After Chelsie submitted more pictures of Angel to the investigating officer via email, she was contacted by two local Indian advocates Katie Ray and Diana Billy-Elliot. Angel is part of the Hopland band of the Pomo Indians thus qualifying his missing persons case under California’s Feather Alert system designed to “provide immediate information to the public to aid in the swift recovery of missing indigenous persons.”
That day a statewide alert was issued by the California Highway Patrol’s Emergency Notification and Tactical Alert Center on behalf of the Ukiah Police Department about Angel’s case.
Chelsie and other members of Angel’s family made laminated copies of the Feather Alert flier at Ukiah’s Staples taking them to businesses throughout town. They also sought out any surveillance footage that caught a glimpse of him.
That day, Ukiah Police released their first official press release regarding Angel’s disappearance and Chelsie received a call from the investigating officer requesting the note he left behind be brought to the station “to be booked into evidence.” Chelsie took the letter to the officer and at the time “raised my concerns about discrepancies in the press release”. The press release, Chelsie says, makes it seem like her and her family did not believe Angel was in danger when they first reported him missing. She said, “That wasn’t true. We were scared that’s why they went to make the report.”
On February 19, Chelsie reached out to the Ukiah Police Department looking for any updates on the case and was told officers were “following up on some tips.” She requested the language of the press release be changed to reflect their family’s immediate concerns for Angel.
Yesterday, a Ukiah Police detective and another officer came to Angel’s home to look through his belongings for any clues that could suggest where he had gone. Chelsie said they also learned investigators were walking the river and used drones to view remote areas around town where people are known to congregate.
We spoke with Ukiah Police Department Chief Cedric Crook about his department’s investigation of Murguia-Martinez’s disappearance.
His case has been assigned to UPD’s detective bureau, Chief Crook said, who has been regularly pinging Murguia-Martinez’s cellphone. Thus far, their attempts to identify a possible location have not been successful which indicates that the phone has been continually off since he walked away from his home on the night of February 14.
Chief Crook said his detectives were using a drone to search a variety of areas their foot searches could not reach.
At this point in the investigation, investigators are not even sure what direction Murguia-Martinez walked the night he left when he was last seen walking away from his apartment on Village Circle.
Village Circle intersects with East Gobbi Street, one of Ukiah’s primary east-west thoroughfares. If Munguria-Martinez headed west, he could have passed by the Ukiah Natural Food Co-op, Rite-Aid, Wells Fargo Bank, and into the residential neighborhoods of the Westside.
If he walked east, Murguia-Martinez would have walked by the well-lit Express Mart, the Super 8 Hotel, and possibly crossed over Highway 101 following East Gobbi until its end at the Rusty Bowl BMX Park, just a stone’s throw from the Russian River.
Chief Crook and Murguia-Martinez’s family believe surveillance footage from the night of February 14 around the vicinity of Village Circle could provide a break in the case. A sighting of Murguia-Martinez on camera could give investigators a sense of the direction he walked that night.
One common strategy detectives would utilize to gather clues on missing people is to analyze their social media. Chief Crook said Murguia-Martinez has no known social media, further complicating efforts to track down information.
Despite calls from the community to deploy Search and Rescue, Chief Crook said two factors currently disqualify the resource: the fact Murguia-Martinez could be armed and the lack of a designated search area.
Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team is a civilian-staffed outfit that works alongside law enforcement agencies. When reports indicate a missing person is armed, out of an abundance of caution, law enforcement will not deploy them.
One of the perplexing aspects of Murguia-Martinez’s case is the lack of a specific search area. Friends, family, and authorities have absolutely no clue of his whereabouts. If search and rescue were to be deployed, the question stands: where exactly would they search?
As of yesterday, Chief Crook said Ukiah Police detectives had received tips of a few “potential sightings” that investigators had to follow-up on.
Chief Crook did recognize that Murguia-Martinez is an adult and he could very well be out there by choice. If that is the case, Chief Crook asked Murguia-Martinez to contact family, friends, or the authorities and let them know he is safe.
Angel Murguia is 5? 8? and 250 pounds. He has long brown hair, green eyes, and always wears black frame glasses. Chelsie said he was last seen wearing a black zip hoodie, black pants, black boots, and a gray hat.
If you happen to find any footage or know about Angel Murguia-Martinez’s whereabouts, contact his sister-in-law Chelsie (707) 621-2922 or the Ukiah Police Department immediately at (707) 463-6262.
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I am so over hearing about the police not taking missing person reports serious when it comes to adults. They need to listen to family cause we know our family members well.
Now if it’s a perpetual thing and said adult is always being reported then I get it.
When it’s out of character for someone to take off like this young man has it’s important to listen. Listening a week later is a little to late in a lot of cases.
To the family do not give up. Keep pushing for them to do their job. I have been in your shoes and know what it’s like.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease and they will tell you anything to keep you silent. Stay squeaky.
It’s extremely upsetting to here how the police just shrugged this off, this happens far too often, the police are here to protect and serve the people but it seems like they just don’t care or don’t take families seriously it’s just sad how uncaring and cold the police have become.
there has got to be private camaras all over the neighborhood that could be reviewed
Aw yes, our fine, upstanding, never do wrong policing community are back protecting & serving (themselves)! Careless, reckless, lawless, abusive & selfish. Just a few adjectives to describe OUR ever reliable EMPLOYEE’S, the police. Sounds like they’re covering their ass & blaming the family for their own lack of care, concern & reluctance to do their friggin job!!. Im so disgusted with law enforcement & their self serving ways & gang mentally. Do your jobs & do it correctly, promptly & within the guidelines of state & federal laws & the policies of your department!!
So many young people are dealing with depression. The struggle is real. Prayers going up for Angel and his family. ???????
Thank you so much for your reporting on this!! Please keep helping to get the word out and to keep pressure on local authorities to help find Angel!