Newly released court documents are shedding light on the tragic final hours of DaCara Thompson, the Maryland woman whose disappearance in late August ended with the discovery of her body more than a week later.
On the night of Aug. 22, Thompson texted her father a simple message: “I love you too. Good night.”
Less than two hours later, surveillance cameras captured her parking her car on Jasmine Terrace and walking toward Riggs Road.
From there, investigators say, she continued toward University Boulevard, where she was seen speaking with the driver of a black GMC Yukon XL Denali.
She entered the vehicle on the passenger side and never returned.
Surveillance and Cell Phone Records
Court filings reveal that cellphone data tracked Thompson inside the vehicle until it arrived at a home on Cambridge Drive in Bowie. Police believe it was there, in the bedroom of Hugo Hernandez Mendez, that the 21-year-old was killed in the early morning hours of Aug. 23.
“Our belief is that the murder occurred inside the residence,” the police chief said in a briefing.
The Discovery
Investigators allege that Mendez disposed of Thompson’s body the same morning along Route 50, between Route 424 and Route 97, by throwing her over a bridge above the South River.
It was not until Aug. 31, more than a week later, that her body was found. Maryland State Police, responding to an unrelated call about a disabled vehicle, spotted her remains about 30 feet below the bridge.
“That area is roughly seven miles from where the murder occurred, but far from where she was last seen,” police noted, calling the discovery both tragic and crucial to the investigation.
A Family’s Devastation
For nearly two weeks, Thompson’s family organized searches, held vigils, and pleaded for her safe return. Her mother told WUSA 9 on Sept. 5 that the family is still struggling to process the loss.
“I just simply want my daughter back,” she said.
Now, as the community rallies around them, Thompson’s loved ones say they will continue to seek justice in her name.
