SUGAR LAND, Texas — For nearly three months now, Vicki Urrutia has been looking for her son Justin.
The Sugar Land man disappeared in November 2023. Police found his car, which was crashed out and abandoned, in Fort Stockton, Texas. That's about seven and a half hours from Sugar Land. Inside his car was his phone, his credit card and wallet, keys and a little bit of money in the glove box, but no Justin.
Vicki has been receiving little to no help from law enforcement. In fact, police returned Justin's car to Vicki, saying they didn't suspect any evidence of foul play. That was until Vicki and Colman Ryan, a private investigator, found some key evidence -- blood.
“Now that I see the blood, I know that it’s not a situation that he did this willingly," Vicki said.
A bottle of Luminol from Amazon helped Vicki and the private investigator discover the blood. When sprayed on a surface that has or had blood, it lights up.
“It was almost like an aha moment, and shocking actually. You could almost see where a body or a person had been sitting," Vicki said. "It was just like the whole upholstery had been cleaned except for the very edge, they couldn’t get that far. It was like a very brownish outline.”
The Sugar Land Police Department took possession of Justin's vehicle Monday for processing.
Neither Vicki nor Ryan believe they should have had to do this much detective work on their own for Justin's case to get attention.
"I hope that this will result in action," Ryan said.
Despite their positive efforts, they believe this case may not have the happy ending they were hoping for.
When asked if he thinks Justin is still alive after the blood was found, Ryan said, "I would say no.”
For Vicki, the blood discovery has made her more intent than ever to find her son.