Authorities release video of rugged Fresno County terrain where Jolissa Fuentes was found
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office released video and photos of the rural foothills in the northeastern part of the county where missing Selma woman Jolissa Fuentes was found dead after a two-month search.
The case made the missing 22-year-old something of a household name in the region as the family organized search parries, hung fliers and spread the word on Facebook.
The grieving father Joey Fuentes said Tuesday his family felt support from people around the country who reached out on social media.
“I want to thank the community. Not just the community — this whole nation,” he said as his voice raised with emotion. “The cries and the pain from my wife, my sisters and my whole family was heard around this whole country.”
Fuentes had last been seen about 4 a.m. Aug 7 at an ampm gas station on Nebraska Avenue in Selma, police have said. Video footage caught her driving away in a car alone.
Selma Chief Rudy Alcaraz on Tuesday said investigators had tracked her cellphone and very little activity occurred after the night she went missing.
Selma police and sheriff’s deputies had begun to focus search efforts near Pine Flat Lake and Alcaraz on Monday zeroed in on a curve in the road at Trimmer Springs and Maxon roads, about 60 miles from where Fuentes was last seen.
The area had been previously searched, but some areas in the mountainous region are steep and covered with brush.
Searchers were not able to see the car crash site from the road, he said.
Alcaraz spotted some tire tracks in the road while he was on foot near the curve. The sheriff’s office responded to the area with a drone and searchers rappelled about 400 feet to the crash hidden in the brush, photos and video footage show.
Alcaraz began searching about 1 p.m. Monday and the car was discovered by a search team about 6 p.m., according to officials.
Alcaraz said Fuentes liked the area and likely went for a scenic drive. Given the hour, he said, she possibly fell asleep at the wheel.
The California Highway Patrol, which is conducting the ongoing investigation, said in a Wednesday news release it was unclear why the car left the roadway, if Fuentes was wearing a seatbelt or if she was impaired.
A sister has previously said Fuentes called her twice through Facebook Messenger about 5:25 a.m. on the morning she went missing, but the sister missed the calls as she slept.
Alcaraz said there was no phone service in the area of the crash, so investigators believe those calls happened before she left the roadway.
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 8:52 AM.
