Authorities in Arizona are asking the public to help locate a missing woman after her vehicle was found abandoned several days after she was last seen.
Isabella Comas, 21, was last seen around 3:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, Jan. 11, leaving a friend’s home near 11120 W. Van Buren Street in Avondale while driving a red Hyundai Sonata, according to the Avondale Police Department (APD). Police later found her car abandoned in Phoenix, ABC15 Arizona reported.
“Surrounding law enforcement agencies have been notified, and area hospitals, cab companies, and emergency services have been contacted with negative results,” the APD said.
Comas is described as a Hispanic woman with brown eyes and pink hair. She is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 110 pounds. She was last seen wearing a navy-blue shirt, blue pants with a white stripe, and sandals.
Comas’s boyfriend, Thomas Rodriguez, was arrested days after her disappearance for allegedly stealing her car, ABC15 Arizona reported. The vehicle, bearing license plate 2EA6LW, was found abandoned near 67th Ave. and Indian School in Phoenix, the outlet reported.
In court documents obtained by the outlet, police reported that “blood stains and damage” were found inside the car.
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Detectives say Comas’ phone was discovered at a recycling center in Phoenix on Jan. 12. Rodriguez, 39, later handed the phone to Comas’ family, who then contacted police, according to AZ Family. Authorities have not disclosed how Rodriguez obtained the phone.
A prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said during a hearing related to the case on Jan. 29 that Rodriguez “already went to great lengths to conceal evidence, linking him to the stolen vehicle,” per AZ Family.
Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of criminal damage, auto theft, and a probation violation, the outlet reported.
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He is being held on a $100,000 cash bond following his arrest at the Maricopa County Jail. He also has five prior felony convictions related to murder, stalking, and aggravated assault. In 2003, he went to prison for second-degree murder and attempted armed robbery, according to AZ Family.
Private investigator Chris Castorena, who is working with Comas’ family, told AZ Family that he is helping guide them through the process. “I’m just that extra support in telling them the procedures, what’s going on, and just giving them, you know, step-by-step directions on what’s going on,” he said.
“…Isabella is somewhere and we just got to find her,” he added.
