Police believe a woman missing for nearly three weeks has been a victim of foul play -- and have filed a search warrant seeking DNA from her estranged husband.
Vilet Patricia Torrez, a Miramar mother of three, was last seen leaving a friend's house the night of Friday, March 30. Her company car was found in the parking lot of her apartment complex, but the 38-year-old University of Miami grad didn't show up for work at Bath Fitter in Doral over the weekend and never made contact with relatives.
"We are going on record," Miramar Police spokesperson Tania Rues confirmed. "Foul play is suspected."
Police have already searched Torrez's Toyota Sienna, a 2009 Jaguar registered to husband Cid Torrez, and the family's Miramar townhouse. A fourth warrant has been filed allowing investigators to obtain DNA and fingerprints from Cid Torrez, who picked up the couple's three children the afternoon of March 30 and then reported his wife missing three days later.
Recent court documents obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel show police removed several items from Torrez's home, including bathroom towels and ladies shorts with what may be blood stains. Detectives were previously spotted inspecting and then removing and bagging bricks from around her front door on April 5.
Both born in Nicaragua, the former Vilet Blanco reportedly began dating Cid Torrez at Miami Springs Senior High School and married in 1998 after he served in the U.S. Marines. The couple separated about two months ago, with Cid Torrez admitting to "little differences right at the end" but insisting the couple closely co-parented despite the crumbling relationship.
Their three children were removed from Cid Torrez's custody after an anonymous call April 5 to the Florida Department of Children and Families. CBS Miami reports the caller told authorities Cid Torrez had a gun and was threatening to "end it all," which his attorney dismissed as hearsay.
Though investigators didn't find a gun in Torrez's home or car, a judge ruled the children would stay with Vilet Torrez' parents and have supervised visitation with their father for the time being.
Family members, meanwhile, continue to care for the children and hand out missing persons flyers in the area, hoping for any information on Torrez' whereabouts.
"I want her to be found," brother Javier Blanco, a local lawyer, told NBCMiami. "At the end of the day, closure means the world."
Photos of Vilet Torrez:
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