The 2020 disappearance of Lesly Palacio in Clark County, Nevada under suspicious circumstances sparked great anxiety among her family. However, it is very unfortunate that the hunt for the young woman led to a tragic discovery of her remains a few days later. The documentary, titled “In Pursuit with John Walsh: Evil Deception,” which can be found on Investigation Discovery, recounts the events leading up to the young woman’s death and how authorities initially suspected a father-son team was responsible for it. In that case, why don’t we learn more about what happened then, do we?
How did Lesly Palacio die?
Lesly Palacio was born and raised in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada in May 1998. She was said to be a caring daughter and a sister always ready to help. The woman, who was 22 at the time of the incident, was in the final stages of her nursing education and had just months to graduate. Also, Lesly had always imagined working as a detective at a crime scene. It seemed as if the young woman had a bright future ahead of her, but then everything was snatched away from her.
Lesly’s loved ones have not seen her since August 28, 2020, the day she left home. She ended up being spotted on surveillance camera standing outside a home in Clark County, Nevada, around 6 a.m. the next day. The search for Lesly, however, ended near Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. On September 9, 2020, her remains, which had decayed to an advanced stage, were discovered hidden under a bush. Lesly was found at the location wearing only part of her clothing and the fact dirt was found on her jeans suggests she had been dragged. Because Lesly had been out in the elements for so long, the circumstances surrounding her death could not be considered suspicious.
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Who would want to kill Lesly Palacio?
After reviewing security footage from a number of different companies, law enforcement officers finally found Lesly with a man later identified as Erick Rangel-Ibarra. He was 25 at the time on August 28, 2020, and a film recorded that night showed him and his friends drinking throughout the night. The police then began looking for Erick. They identified his home, and security video taken from a neighbor’s house provided essential details about what had happened. On the morning of August 29, 2020, around 6:00 a.m., a pickup truck arrived at the residence and authorities suspected that Erick had helped a drunk Lesly exit his vehicle.
Around 7:26 a.m., surveillance footage showed two men pulling a body from the home and placing it in the truck. The cops were under the impression that one was Erick and the other was Jose Rangel, Erick’s father. As the pickup drove away with the body inside, Jose was seen hosing down the driveway with a garden hose. Inside the residence, officers discovered some human blood spatter, along with cleaning supplies and rubber gloves. In addition, the dirt found in the truck’s tires was examined and they used other security footage to determine where the truck might have been that morning. Thanks to this analysis, police were able to locate Lesly’s body near the state park in September 2020.
Authorities wanted to arrest the father and son, but when they arrived, neither of them was anywhere to be found. On January 19, 2021, Jose presented himself to authorities at the US-Mexico border crossing in San Diego, California. This was a happy break for the police officers. He claimed to authorities that he and Erick fled to Mexico together but are no longer together. After that, Jose was interrogated in Nevada, where they took him. He stated that he was in the garage on the morning of August 29, 2020 when Erick dragged Lesly’s body onto a bed sheet. He claimed he saw Erick coming into the garage at the time. At the time, Jose was under the impression that she had died of an overdose.
Afterwards, Jose made the decision to help Erick remove the deceased person’s body from their apartment to hide it from the rest of the family. He claimed Lesly showed no signs of trauma and claimed she was nude. Jose made the decision to flee to Mexico with Erick after he started acting strange and spoke about the possibility of ending his own life later that day. Also, one of Lesly’s sisters recalled that a few days after the kidnapping, Erick’s mother and sisters were moving furniture while wearing gloves. This information was provided by Lesly. Then a friend of Erick’s testified that Erick had asked him to bring a can of gas because he had killed someone else. Erick’s friend said Erick told him he killed someone else. However, his friend hadn’t taken him seriously at the time.
When was the last time you heard from Erick Rangel-Ibarra and Jose Rangel?
Jose Rangel, then 46, pleaded guilty in June 2021 to destruction of evidence and aiding and abetted murder. The time he had already spent in pre-trial detention was taken into account and he was sentenced to two years in prison. In court, Jose expressed remorse, saying: “I feel very humbled that this incident took place and that as a father I acted as I did and that I did not go directly to the authorities when this happened is.” Jose’s apology was accepted by the judge. My love for my children ultimately won me over. I was so close to walking over the abyss that I didn’t know what to do. That was a betrayal to me. I should have thought better of that before I acted.”
After spending a total of eight and a half months behind bars, Jose was finally released from prison on April 28, 2022. During his incarceration, he had participated in a number of programs that allowed him to accumulate more credit. Since then, Jose seems to have maintained a calm profile and it seems he continues to do so. The state of Nevada is still his most recent known whereabouts. Erick is wanted for murder but continues to evade arrest by authorities. Authorities continue to search for Erick, although they believe he is currently in Mexico.
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Arrest warrants have been issued for Lesly Palacio’s father and son
According to court documents, police have obtained arrest warrants for a man and his father in connection with the murder of a 22-year-old Las Vegas woman whose body was discovered a week ago in Valley of Fire State Park. The victim was found dead near the park.
Family members said they last saw Lesly Palacio on August 29 when she went to buy drinks with Erick Rangel-Ibarra, who is now 25. Her body was discovered last Monday in Moapa Valley, near Valley of Fire State Park.
After the discovery, authorities said they were looking for Rangel-Ibarra on a warrant and that he and his father, Jose Rangel, who is 45, were missing.
According to Las Vegas Judiciary Court records, a warrant was issued for Ibarra von Rangel’s arrest on counts of first degree murder and destruction or concealment of evidence. An arrest warrant was also issued for his father. Rangel faces charges of destroying or hiding evidence and harboring, concealing or assisting a criminal, according to the warrant issued Monday.
Due to the ongoing investigation, the Metropolitan Police Department refused to release the arrest warrants in response to a request from the Review-Journal Tuesday.
Separate press releases regarding the disappearances of Palacio, Rangel-Ibarra and his father were each issued by Metro on September 1 in response to reports of their disappearance. In addition, requests for reports on all three missing persons were denied by the department.
The two boys were reportedly last seen in a white 2004 Ford F-150 pickup truck with license plate LVN84A from Nevada, police said.
Rangel-Ibarra has brown eyes and black hair and he is approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 173 pounds. Police say he has a tattoo of the state of California on his ear, a skull tattoo on his chest and a “Dragon Ball Z image” tattooed on his left wrist.
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