Missing Belmopan teen found dead; her family left in shambles

Last night, one family’s worst nightmare became a reality when their missing loved one was found dead off a feeder road in the Cayo District. The victim, 18-year-old Imarie Galvez, was reported missing on Monday after her family could not locate her. Over the weekend, the teen vanished without a trace from her home in Belmopan and her family is yet to put together the pieces of her disappearance. Reporter Vejea Alvarez headed out west and filed the following report.

Vejea Alvarez, Love News: On Saturday night when 19-year-old Imarie Galvez left her home in Belmopan City, her family never imagined the next time they saw her it would have been here in a bushy area off the Hummingbird Highway under such tragic circumstances.

Just after six o’clock on Tuesday night, the teen’s partially decomposed nude body was discovered with gunshot injuries off a feeder road near mile forty. Around midnight on Saturday, the teen vanished from her home without a trace, prompting her family to launch an intense search. According to her uncle, Said Enriquez, it was off a hunch that they visited an area where less than 6 months ago another missing woman was found dead. 

Said Enriquez, Uncle of Deceased: “Something told me this is the road. We parked there and we started you know every body got off, we started looking around and you know you’re looking but at the same time you don’t want to find anything right ? And we just continued walking up the hill and probably less than a quarter mile you know a smell hit us and we started walking. In fact I went way up while my friend stayed a little further down and because we were sweeping the whole area. So when I was coming back he told me something is there.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love News: But how did Imarie get there ? While it’s still a mystery at this point her father Stanley says Imarie’s boyfriend, came to look for her the night she disappeared but she did not go with him and ended up going to bed. But, when he woke up he realized she had left home in the dead of night with someone they believe she knew.

Vejea Alvarez, Love News: Have you found out if Imarie was hanging out with anyone that night ? 

Stanley Galvez, Father of Imari Galvez: “Well we’re still trying to ascertain that. We haven’t received anything solid, nothing concrete because I think footage is left to be obtained from Cabanas or wherever she was hanging out.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love News: Okay so you’re not sure at this time if she had gone out that night, not sure what happened when she went missing between that time ? 

Stanley Galvez, Father of Imari Galvez: “No we ‘re not sure what happened but one thing I can tell you that somebody came for her. Somebody came for her. Who that person is, who that person was is still yet to be determined.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love News: Do you think she was harmed by persons she knew ? 

Stanley Galvez, Father of Imari Galvez: “Definitely. She got harmed by persons that know her and that know me.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love News: And, her uncle also believes that Imarie was led to her death by persons she trusted. He says that his niece was a fighter, who definitely would have put up a fight if she felt endangered.

Said Enriquez, Uncle of Deceased: “However led her there was somebody she trusted because from here to over there I mean senses will kick in the moment they start to drive you down that road you will know they will do something to you. So probably it could never have been one person it could have maybe been two or three had her under full control. She wasn’t a small girl her body is built solid so she would have fought anything.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love News: Galvez’s family says her gruesome murder has undoubtedly broken their hearts. However, her father is grateful that they received some form of closure because he knew his eldest child had been killed from the moment she never answered any of his calls.

Stanley Galvez, Father of Imari Galvez: “I’ll be straight and clear anytime you hear somebody goes missing around this surrounding Belmopan area most of the time that is the result so that is the reason why I arranged a search party from early yesterday so we could get up to speed because you can’t waste time because all the odds were telling us that something wasn’t matching up.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love News: And, while Galvez’s family is on the road to recovery, her father is launching his own investigation in hopes of getting to the bottom of her murder. 

Stanley Galvez, Father of Imari Galvez: “Me and him and another friend we took up the initiative to do it and we’re getting headway. We’re not finished yet but we’re getting headway. I wish the police were trying to do this because there are a lot of cameras along the highway from Belmopan to Armenia and we are combing the village and we are getting the footage. I know that will bring out something when you compile it together something will come out.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love News: Galvez says that all-in-all he hopes that his daughter’s kill or killers are brought to justice and so they can no longer harm another young soul. Vejea Alvarez, Love News.