The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department has arrested 21-year-old Antolin Garcia-Torres in connection with the disappearance of Sierra LaMar.

sierra lamar 342x441 custom DNA Links Missing Teen, Sierra LaMar, to Suspect, Antolin Garcia Torres
LaMar, a 15-year-old high school student, disappeared on March 16. She was on her way to school at the time of her disappearance. The teen’s cell phone was discovered the following day, just blocks away from her bus stop. On March 18, LaMar’s Juicy brand bag was discovered on the same road where her cell phone had been recovered. A folded set of clothing inside of the bag linked Torres to the missing teen.

The bag, along with the clothes found inside, were taken to the SCCSD where they were examined for evidence. DNA testing confirmed the presence of genetic material. The DNA was compared to samples stored in the CODIS database. The DNA was a match to Garcia-Torres.

Garcia-Torres was implicated in a series of 2009 assaults that occurred outside of a Safeway store in Morgan Hill. He was arrested in 2010 after allegedly assaulting a tenant that owed his mother money. Authorities seized Garcia-Torres’ Jetta last month to search for evidence. The testing revealed the presence of LaMar’s DNA inside of the vehicle.

Garcia-Torres was arrested on May 21. Sheriff Laurie Smith announced the following day that enough evidence, both physical and circumstantial, exists to lead authorities to believe that Garcia-Torres kidnapped and murdered the 15-year-old girl.

The body of Sierra LaMar has not been recovered, and her mother has told news reporters that she is holding on to hope that her daughter is still alive.

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