Post by Scumhunter on Jul 5, 2015 2:38:57 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: amw.com archives)
Fugitive Profile as of July 5th, 2015: (Based on 2010 AMW archive, Maryland court case search)
Full Name: Jose Roberto Orellana Romero
Alias: Beto Garcia
Date of Birth: 5/20/1975)
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Hair (Color, Description, Facial Hair):
-Black
-Romero has a thin, dark mustache.
Traits and Habits:
-Romero typically works as a construction laborer.
-He often wears a knit hat.
Location information:
-Romero may seek out El Salvadorian communities.
Other Possible Locations:
-Canton , OH
-Columbus , OH
-Springfield , VA
-El Salvador
Who to call if you've seen him: Based on wanted location, our advice would be to call Crime Solvers of the Lower Eastern Shore at 410-548-1776
Construction Crew Heads East For Winter Work
Eduardo Gaspar Masoller owned and operated a Virginia-based construction company for years but also did work in neighboring states.
In the winter of 2003, Eduardo packed up his van and headed east toward Ocean City, Md., in search of work. Eduardo brought two laborers with him: Jose Roberto Orellana Romero and Jose Hernandez. The three men had a successful season, turned a decent profit and happily headed home when spring came.
Two years later, on Jan. 31, Eduardo received a call from Romero and Hernandez. They told Eduardo there was potential for another profitable season in Ocean City. Eduardo rented a truck, packed his tools, loaded his supplies and drove east without any hesitation, picking up Romero and Hernandez along the way.
When the men arrived in Ocean City, they stopped for dinner at local restaurant Bull on the Beach. As they discussed their plans, Eduardo discovered his employee, Hernandez, did not have a valid driver’s license. Everyone agreed Hernandez would need to return to home to renew his driver’s license. Since he couldn’t legally drive, Romero would have to accompany him.
The crew returned to Eduardo’s family’s nearby condo and parked the rental truck. Romero and Hernandez took Eduardo’s work van and headed home early on the morning of Feb. 1 to renew Hernandez’s license.
A Concerned Family Takes Action
Eduardo, who lived in Virginia with his parents, routinely called home. They knew he was working in Ocean City, but when they didn’t hear from him, they began to worry. On Feb. 3, Eduardo’s parents called the Ocean City Police Department and requested they stop by Eduardo’s condo to check on things.
Police checked on Eduardo’s condo that morning. The rental truck was parked in the lot, the blinds in the condo were closed, the lights were off, the front door was locked and Eduardo's work van was missing. There was no answer from within the residence. Police contacted Eduardo’s family to inform them of their visit to Eduardo's condo and added that they didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, but police also told them they weren't able to get inside the condo.
The information didn’t satisfy Eduardo’s parents, and they decided to travel down to the condo themselves. Things hadn’t changed a bit from when police initially checked the location, so Eduardo’s family called a locksmith to let them into the house. When the front door was unlocked, police were at the scene with Eduardo’s parents in order to search the condo for signs of foul play.
Detectives didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary at first — but the apartment looked like it had been cleaned in an attempt to cover something up. Upon closer inspection, police discovered blood stains and immediately ushered Eduardo’s family out of the condo. Police designated it a crime scene.
Cops: Killer On The Loose
Police are still not completely sure what happened that night, but they do know one thing: Someone brutally murdered Eduardo in his condo.
Luminol tests conducted in Eduardo’s apartment revealed massive amounts of blood splatter -- so much that a judge declared Eduardo dead.
Detectives believe someone murdered Eduardo after returning from Bull on the Beach, cleaned up the crime scene and dumped the body. Detectives consider Jose Romero a person of interest in Eduardo’s murder.
Although Hernandez has already been arrested and convicted of felony theft, police believe he may have played a part in Eduardo’s murder. However, detectives do not have enough information to charge him or Romero. Moreover, Hernandez was deported back to El Salvador after serving a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for multiple counts of felony theft. Despite Hernandez's unavailability, police think Romero is still residing somewhere in the states.
Five years have passed, and detectives with the Ocean City Police Department are not only still searching for Eduardo’s body but his potential killers as well.
“We believe that the suspects would have quickly dumped Eduardo’s body in some remote wooded area, or even a construction Dumpster,” OCPD Sgt. Todd Wood said. “At the time of the murder, the weather was too cold and the ground too hard to have dug and dumped the body beneath ground.”
Romero has vanished, and police desperately need your tips to help track him down. He is currently being charged with multiple counts of felony theft, but detectives consider him a person of interest in the Eduardo’s murder. They need to speak with him.
Police say Eduardo is an illegal El Salvadorian immigrant who has no known family in the United States. In the past, Romero has lived in Virginia and Ohio. Romero typically works as a day laborer and is probably seeking out work in order to send money to his wife in El Salvador.
Thoughts? The above was taken from the old AMW archive. Romero was aired on the March 27th, 2010 episode of America's Most Wanted. A Maryland court case search reveals there is still a warrant out for Romero's arrest. In my opinion, he fled to El Salvador. His partner did and he has no family in the U.S.
web.archive.org/web/20100328033444/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=70955#case
www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/masoller_eduardo.html
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