SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio law enforcement officials are investigating after Savanah Nicole Soto, a pregnant teen whose disappearance prompted a CLEAR Alert, was reportedly found dead inside a vehicle with her boyfriend Tuesday.
Family members told KPRC 2 sister station KSAT-TV that 18-year-old Soto was found dead in a vehicle in the 5900 block of Danny Kaye along with an adult male who is believed to be Soto’s boyfriend-- 22-year-old Matthew Guerra. San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus said the department has not confirmed their identities nor the causes of death, pending information from the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Here is what we know about Soto and this tragic case, according to KSAT and police.
CLEAR Alert was issued Monday
Leon Valley police said Soto’s family told them that she was supposed to be induced into labor but did not show up at the hospital. When reached by KSAT on Sunday, police said they received a request for a welfare check from Soto’s family on Friday night.
Investigators went to Soto’s home and said they did not see any signs of forced entry. Police told KSAT that at the time, there was no cause for concern. According to LVPD, they were told that the couple was possibly out of town.
On Christmas Day at around 4 p.m., the Department of Public Safety issued a CLEAR Alert for Soto.
The alert stated Soto was last seen in a 2013 Gray Kia Optima. The initial alert gave the temporary Texas license plate number of 4289D57, but an updated alert issued on Tuesday added another license plate number TRC9447, KSAT reported. Soto’s family organized a search of the area near her apartment on Christmas night, the Associated Press stated.
Joanie Wasil, Soto’s sister-in-law, told KSAT that on Tuesday night, someone contacted her through Facebook and said they saw the Kia Optima in the parking lot. She contacted the police as she and her family made their way to the scene.
Wasil said she saw Soto and Guerra dead in the vehicle and believed they were shot. She glanced at Soto’s face “and didn’t want to see anymore,” Wasil said.
‘She was so excited to have this baby’
While Soto’s family gathered to help find her, her mother, Gloria Cordova, told KSAT reporters that there was no reason why the victim would have fled.
“I don’t know where she’s at or where she could be at because this is not like her,” Cordova said. “She was so excited to have this baby. The house is already baby-ready. She was so excited she was going to be a mommy.”
“It’s all she was talking about since she got pregnant... That was her life,” Wasil said. “She was so ready to be a mom. I think she was meant to be a mom.”
Soto’s brother was killed in 2022
Savanah’s 15-year-old brother, Ethan Soto, was killed in a shooting on May 16, 2022, on San Antonio’s west side.
Investigators said Ethan went down the street to meet someone when an argument ensued, leading to the shooting. Ethan reportedly died at the scene.
Victor Nathaneal Rivas, 19, was charged with murder in the case.
KSAT says the family was at the center of a courtroom brawl involving Rivas. The video of the incident was shared with KSAT in October.
‘Possible murder’
During a news conference on Tuesday evening, McManus said, “What we’re looking at right now is a very, very perplexing crime scene.”
“Detectives right now are looking at this as a possible murder, but we don’t know for sure,” McManus continued.
McManus said SAPD is conducting the investigation.