DNA Breakthrough Identifies Teen

Four years after a body was found along a rural Wharton County road, investigators have identified the victim as 16-year-old Houston teen Yeimy Maciela Beltrand. Her remains were discovered in June of ’21 near County Road 225 and remained a mystery until DNA testing linked her to family members last year. Deputies now believe Yeimy was killed in Harris County before her body was left in Wharton County. Her boyfriend, 27-year-old Luis Omar Beltran-Mendoza, has been charged with murder and remains on the run.