Tragedy has struck the U.S. Navy community following the confirmation that 21-year-old Navy sailor Angelina Petra Resendiz was found dead nearly two weeks after she vanished from her barracks at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.
Authorities have placed another Navy sailor in pretrial custody in connection with her death, with charges pending under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Resendiz, a culinary specialist assigned to the USS James E. Williams, was last seen on May 29. She was reported missing several days later, on June 3, prompting a “critically missing adult alert” from the Virginia State Police.
According to a statement from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), her body was discovered in a wooded area in Norfolk on June 3 and identified by the Norfolk Medical Examiner on June 4. The sailor allegedly connected to her death has not been publicly named.
“NCIS remains committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Resendiz to ensure accountability and justice,” the agency stated.
While the investigation continues, NCIS confirmed that the sailor in custody would be subject to military trial procedures under the UCMJ. That legal code governs the conduct, prosecution, and sentencing of U.S. military personnel and applies to active-duty members, reservists, and academy cadets.
Resendiz’s disappearance and death have raised serious concerns from her family, particularly her mother, Esmerelda Castle, who criticized Navy leadership for a slow and dispassionate response.
“Her colleagues, friends, and even authorities knew she was missing, but the response was minimal,” Castle said in a statement to local news outlet WTKR. “After her friends filed a missing person’s report when her commander would not, they showed little compassion or understanding. This callousness led to her death, which cannot be tolerated.”
A GoFundMe campaign to support Castle in the aftermath of her daughter’s death has raised over $9,000.
This case has sent shockwaves through the military community, bringing to bare the protocols for handling missing persons cases within the armed forces. Investigations are ongoing as Resendiz’s family, friends, and fellow sailors mourn a life cut tragically short.
