CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — It's been 19 years since Victoria Ochoa was reported missing out of Clarksville, and while her remains have since been found, her killer hasn't.
One of the last times her loved ones saw the 27-year-old mother of four was at a family gathering in August 2005. In an interview more than 10 years later, Ochoa's mother, Sharon Costello, told News 2, "It was just family getting together and it was a good time."
Ochoa left the gathering around 4 p.m. that Sunday afternoon. Before heading out the door, Ochoa told her mother she would call later, but never did. When the young mother missed her 3-year-old son's birthday party a few days later, her loved ones began to fear the worst.
Several months later, on Feb. 21, 2006, investigators found Ochoa's remains in an abandoned home on D Street. One of her children was watching the news when she saw her mother's picture flash across the screen that day.
"I asked my grandmother what happened,” Katherine Ochoa recalled. “She sat us all down and told us that not only was our mother’s life ended but was taken from us.”
According to police, Ochoa's last known location was at a BP gas station on Providence Boulevard. The home where her body was found was just about three miles from the center of town, and not far from the gas station.
Still, what happened in the hours after she disappeared is a puzzle investigators are trying to piece together. While detectives believe her death was the result of a homicide, no suspects have been identified.
In the years since, Ochoa's case has continued to be featured among the Clarksville-Montgomery County Crime Stoppers’ unsolved murders. Her case is one of several that now qualify for a $10,000 cash reward.
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Anyone who has information related to Ochoa's murder is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 931-645-TIPS or go to www.p3tips.com and leave a tip online. All callers remain completely anonymous.