SAN ANTONIO — Police are continuing to search for who killed a 17-year-old girl after her body was found naked in a ditch.
Relatives told KENS 5 the girl is Kaitlin Elizabeth Hernandez. San Antonio police found her body near the 7600 block of Dell Oak Drive near Krueger Middle School, not far from her northeast-side home around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. Her family had reported her missing at 11:30 pm.
Police say Hernandez was naked, and her body had visible signs of trauma. The medical examiner's office said she was strangled.
A neighbor who wanted to be left anonymous gave her account what she heard that night.
“I actually saw two males standing next to the ditch shining like a light down there. After a couple of seconds of that. I then heard a female shout “Hey!’ I want to say it was in the ditch. It echoed like it was in the ditch. But then after that it just kind of went quiet,” she said.
Hernandez reportedly left home with a man from the neighborhood and never returned. Her family went looking for her and calling her phone, which someone found in a nearby ditch.
Officers searched the ditch and found a blue jacket, then found the missing girl under a bridge.
Police tell us they have detained the man Hernandez was last seen with and questioned him. Now they are looking for a second individual as they continue working to find out what happened and how she ended up dead.
SAPD had previously shared photos of a person of interest but said Thursday morning that he has been identified and "is cooperating with the investigation." A suspect has yet to be arrested.
Crime Stoppers of San Antonio said they could pay up to $5,000 for information which leads to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for her death. They say to call (210) 224 -STOP for any information related to the case.
'Now we have to bury her'
Hernandez was senior at Roosevelt High School. Her aunt, Crystal Rodriguez said she was the life of the party and had a dream of being a veterinarian.
“She was going to graduate in March and now we have to bury her," Rodriguez said.
They are urging anyone with information to come forward.
“She was innocent," Rodriguez said. "She didn’t deserve what happened to her.”
Hernandez's family has created a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral services.
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