After a 4 -year-old vanished from her home 35 years ago, an arrest has been made in the case with a suspect being accused of kidnapping her from her home in South Carolina and then killing her, according to authorities.
The suspect, Thomas McDowell, a 61-year-old North Carolina man, is facing charges of murder, kidnapping, and first-degree burglary in the 1986 disappearance of Jessica Gutierrez, according to a news release from Lexington County Sheriff's Office.
Jessica reportedly disappeared on June 6, 1986, after her mother Debra Gutierrez had put her to bed, a video from the sheriff's office said.
Debra Gutierrez reported that her daughter was gone after she had woken up the following day.
"You don't understand it," Debra Gutierrez said. "Everything is happening like a whirlwind."
Related
After years of having no information on what could have happened, a new investigation shed light on the kidnapping.
State and local investigators combined for a total of 125 new interviews, reviewing thousands of pages of case files, according to the department. The investigation into the case led to the arrest of McDowell.
"Because of the work we did, coming together as a team, we were able to sort and connect more pieces of the puzzle about what happened to Jessica all those years ago," Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in a statement.
The FBI was also involved in the investigation.
Related
The lead investigator of the disappearance, Sgt. David Pritchard, said that Debra Gutierrez's other children did not see her and a search for her revealed no trace of the girl. However, Pritchard noted that it was later discovered someone had entered the family's home and taken her.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by The News & Observer, McDowell's fingerprints were found in the Gutierrez family's home.
Jessica's body has never been found, according to the News & Observer.
Now that McDowell's arrest has been made, Debra Gutierrez shared with the News & Observer that she is feeling relief.
"I'm glad God brought me to see it," Debra Gutierrez said. "I prayed he would bring me through it, and we've waited for this a long time."
