Missing Woman’s Relative Not Facing Kidnap Charges

Sheriff’s detectives still have no solid leads in the disappearance of Sandra Rosas, the wife of Los Lobos singer-guitarist Cesar Rosas, but they announced Wednesday that they are not seeking kidnapping charges against her half brother.

Sandra Rosas, 47, has been missing since Saturday night, when she was last seen at her Rowland Heights home, said sheriff’s spokesman Boris Nikolof.

Detectives decided not to file charges against Gabriel Gomez “at this time” after talking with the district attorney’s office, Nikolof said. Gomez was arrested Sunday on suspicion of kidnapping Rosas.

The 39-year-old Whittier resident will remain in custody on a parole hold at the request of the California Department of Corrections, Nikolof said. Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Flam added that “we have not precluded [Gomez] from this investigation.”

Rosas’ relatives declined to comment on the investigation Wednesday but continued to plead for the public’s help in finding the missing woman.

Joe Ornelas, a cousin of Cesar Rosas, said outside the Rowland Heights house that Sandra is a warmhearted mother who receives visitors into her home with open arms.

“That’s the kind of person she is, that’s the person we’re missing,” Ornelas told reporters Wednesday morning. “Tragedy is only a tragedy when the opportunity to help is ignored. So, please, if you have any information, contact your local authorities.”

Ruben Robles, a cousin of the missing woman, told reporters that Sandra Rosas had been going out of her way to help Gomez however she could, including finding him construction work.

Cesar Rosas, one of the founders of Los Lobos, did not appear at the family’s news conference.

Detectives have been searching for Sandra Rosas in Yorba Linda and Placentia, Ornelas said, as well as in La Puente and Rowland Heights, “but other areas aren’t out of the question.”

Her daughters last saw Rosas on Saturday at 8:30 p.m., Nikolof said. When the daughters returned to the Rowland Heights cul-de-sac at 11 p.m., they found the house door open, the family’s van missing and shattered glass in the driveway.

One of the daughters called her mother’s cellular phone, Nikolof said, and overheard a conversation that led her to believe that her mother was being held against her will. One of the voices belonged to Gomez, the daughter told police.

The missing dark maroon van was found Monday in La Puente, bearing possible traces of blood, Nikolof said. When he was arrested, Gomez had bruises on his upper body, authorities said.