Gabriella Cartagena (Photo courtesy of Marinette Police Department)
MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A woman reported missing from Marinette last week was found deceased in a wooded area in Menominee, Michigan, Tuesday while her boyfriend is in custody in Minnesota, police confirmed.
Two days after finding missing 24-year-old Gabriella Cartagena’s body, Marinette authorities held a press conference on the case Thursday.
Cartagena was reported missing by her family on Feb. 4 during a phone call with her mother where she was in distress, crying and saying, “please don’t shoot me.”
Police say Cartagena was last seen with her boyfriend, Robert Chilcote, at Red Arrow Park.
When police arrived at Red Arrow Park, they saw signs of a disturbance; including blood.
A day later on Feb. 5, Chilcote was booked into a Minnesota jail on charges of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle and being a fugitive from justice from another state.
Marinette police chief Jon LaCombe says detectives went to Minnesota to interview Chilcote but would not reveal the details of that interview.
LaCombe says investigators used surveillance video from various businesses and cell tower information to track Chilcote’s movement after Cartagena was reported missing.
That led investigators to a wooded area near Birch Creek Road in Menominee County, Michigan where Cartagena’s body was found on the morning of Feb. 10.
LaCombe says he believes Cartagena was killed at Red Arrow Park and transported to Menominee County.
Marinette County District Attorney DeShea Morrow says they are working on Chilcote’s extradition and charges could be filed once the autopsy is complete.
Officials did not provide a motive.
Authorities say Cartagena moved to Marinette with her family from the Milwaukee area about a year ago. Cartagena also has a child from a previous relationship.
Chilcote is from the Marinette area and investigators did not know why Chilcote drove to Minnesota after Cartagena’s disappearance.
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