Girl, 18, Met a Man on a Dating App Before She Went Missing. He’s Now Been Arrested in Connection with Her Death

An Arizona teen who was reported missing after allegedly going to meet someone she connected with on a dating app has been found dead, authorities say.

Yessenia Norman, 18, was reported missing on Jan. 19 after she didn’t return to the transitional facility where she had been living, according to Fox 10 Phoenix and ABC 15 Arizona. Friends told investigators she had gone to meet someone from a dating app days earlier, on Jan. 15.

Police later located Norman at an apartment in Tolleson on Jan. 28, where she had been stabbed 27 times, Fox 10 Phoenix reported, citing the Tolleson Police.

A GoFundMe created to help cover burial expenses described her as “Yessenia ‘Sisi’ Norman, a beautiful and bright 18-year-old daughter to Jessica Nuñez,” adding: “After two weeks of searching, her remains were tragically found. The circumstances surrounding her death are currently under investigation…”

Randal Santillan, 27, was living at the apartment complex where Norman’s body was discovered, Fox 10 Phoenix reported. The outlet said he had shared the unit with his ex-wife until she moved out in December.

Investigators also determined that both Santillan’s and Norman’s cell phones were in the same area on the night she disappeared, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.

After Norman was found, Santillan allegedly left the state in his vehicle, which police tracked moving through Illinois, New Mexico, Texas, and Missouri before it ultimately stopped in Mississippi, Fox 10 Phoenix and ABC 15 Arizona reported.

Authorities arrested Santillan around 7 a.m. local time on Friday, Feb. 6, in Biloxi, Miss. He has been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with Norman’s disappearance and is being held at the Harrison County Adult Detention Center while awaiting extradition, WOLX reported.

ABC 15 Arizona reported that the facility where Norman had been living was contracted with the Arizona Department of Child Safety. Officials have not said how long she had been staying there.

Norman’s mother, Nuñez, told Fox 10 Phoenix she is struggling to understand what happened: “I can’t imagine. I just can’t imagine, who would do that to her? I don’t understand.”