Body of Franklin County Woman Found in Rural Area

The body of a woman murdered in March of 2019 north of Pasco has been located.

Franklin County Sheriff’s investigators confirmed the remains discovered in a shallow grave at a rural location near Connell are that of Estela Torres-Rodriguez.

"During the week of July 3, 2023, the sheriff's office received credible information about the possible location of human remains southeast of Connell," Commander Marcus Connor said in a press conference today. "Detectives responded and located those remains. Based on the location and the valuable evidence recovered at the scene, we are positive that Estela's body has finally been found."

Family members gathered inside the Franklin County Sheriff's Office to hear the announcement. They had been waiting three and a half years for new information on the whereabouts of Torres-Rodriguez.

"On behalf of Sheriff Raymond, and the entire Franklin County Sheriff's Office, we offer our sincere condolences to Estela's family," Commander Connor said. "I know that Estela's daughters and others have been hoping we were wrong. Like many families, what they wanted so badly to believe that their mom was still alive."

Commander Connor did not want to provide details into what led investigators to the exact location of Torres-Rodriguez's remains, but he said the sparsely populated area had been of interest to detectives for some time thanks to key pieces of evidence such as cell phone data.

One of the suspected killers and Torres-Rodriguez's son, Clemente Rodriguez Torres, has been in custody since his arrest by U-S Border Patrol in September 2019 when he tried to enter the U-S at the San-Ysidro border crossing in California.

He awaits trial and maintains his innocence.

Torres-Rodriguez's husband, Tiburcio Rodriguez, is also a suspect. He remains at large and is believed to be in Mexico.

Detectives would like you to call the Franklin County Sheriff's Office if you have any information into Rodriguez's whereabouts.