Fire, Missing Woman Prompt Search

Long Beach police were looking Sunday for a man they believe may have fled the area with the body of his estranged wife in his car after setting her house afire and critically burning her 20-year-old son.

Dante Caldejon, 50, called relatives about 4 a.m. Sunday and said that he had killed Ofelia Gahol, also 50, and was taking her body to Mexico, according to Sgt. Paul Le Baron, a spokesman for the Long Beach Police Department.

“It’s a unique situation,” Le Baron said. “I would say that it’s extremely serious.”

He said police and fire personnel responded to a residential fire in the 2400 block of Easy Avenue about 3:15 a.m. Sunday.

An investigation, Le Baron said, revealed evidence that the fire, which singed the house’s interior but did little structural damage, had been started by an arsonist who left behind two empty cans that had contained a flammable liquid.

One resident, whose name was not released but was said to be Gahol’s son, was taken to a Sherman Oaks hospital in critical condition with burns over 45% of his body. Four other residents suffered minor injuries.

Other residents said that Gahol, who also lives in the house, had been missing since 8 p.m. the day before. And a short time later, investigators recovered her car, abandoned less than a block from the fire.

Police became alarmed about an hour later, Le Baron said, after receiving a report of an attempted arson at a second house occupied by Gahol’s relatives in Stanton. In that case, he said, the occupants allegedly saw Caldejon trying to set the fire and chased him away before he could succeed.

A short time later, Le Baron said, the man allegedly called someone at the house and said that he had killed his wife and that he had her in the car.

Gahol and Caldejon are going through a divorce, according to police. Because of a history of domestic violence, Caldejon was served with a restraining order in November. But police are particularly concerned, Le Baron said, because Caldejon had threatened to harm his wife’s family in the past.

“We still don’t even know, for sure, if he has her,” the police spokesman said, “but we suspect foul play. At this point we have her listed as missing and at risk.”

Caldejon is described as Filipino, 5 foot 6, 168 pounds with black hair and black eyes. His wife, also Filipino, is 5 foot 2, 118 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. They are believed to be in a tan 2003 Toyota Highlander with either a Carson Toyota paper plate or license plate 5ELW919.

Anyone who sees them is urged to call the Long Beach Police Department at (562) 435-6711.