Terrifying phone records lead police to find a woman's remains and arrest her ex-boyfriend for her murder, it has emerged.
Madeline Molina Pantoja, a 20-year-old whose life was tragically cut short, was found dead in a field in Midland, Texas, US, after she was missing for 10 days.
Her ex-boyfriend Mario Juan Chacon Jr, 24, has been arrested in connection with her disappearance and subsequent death.
Ms Pantoja's lifeless body was discovered in a desolate field last weekend after an exhaustive search.
As the investigation unfolds, a newly released affidavit has unveiled disturbing phone records that shed light on this harrowing case.
The Midland Police Department was first alerted to Ms Pantoja's disappearance on the morning of May 11.
Concerned friends and family members had not heard from her since a little after 8pm the previous day.
According to the affidavit, a close friend of hers, Jasmine Hernandez, had plans with her and she became worried when calls and texts went unanswered.
Hernandez rushed to Ms Pantoja's apartment and noticed a faint light emanating from within, but her knocks on the door went unanswered.
She returned to the apartment later and found the light had mysteriously gone out. Alarmed, she urgently reached out to Ms Pantoja's brother.
Together, they sought help from a maintenance worker to gain entry into the apartment, where they found Ms Pantoja's phone, purse, and keys, along with her dog, left without food or water.
The concerned pair also noticed a conspicuous absence - a black coffee table had vanished from the apartment, which they found odd.
Friends and family revealed that Ms Pantoja had recently ended a relationship with Chacon, and neighbours said that the couple had heated arguments on May 10, a day before her disappearance.
One of the neighbours said he had also heard a woman's scream during the fight last night.
Ms Pantoja's brother told police he called Chacon at around 8.35pm on that day, and Chacon asked him to contact his sister through a three-way call.
He said that Ms Pantoja sounded distraught, and failed to respond to the conversation. He subsequently sent her a text, but it, too, went unanswered.
When asked, Chacon declined to search for Ms Pantoja along with her close ones and claimed that he had spent the entire day with his father.
He also claimed that he was unable to drive due to his "anger medication".
Police were dispatched to conduct a welfare check in a matter that escalated to a missing persons investigation.
Upon entering Ms Pantoja's residence, investigators stumbled upon unsettling clues including a filthy bucket of water and a sticky floor, indicative of excessive cleaning product use.
Further inspection unveiled a missing bedspread, a dark red stain on a bedsheet, and damaged doors with strands of hair entangled in them.
When interviewed by police, Chacon claimed that he had been at home throughout the night and that he had last seen Ms Pantoja on May 9.
But video footage from nearby businesses revealed his Ford F-250 in the vicinity between 12.26am and 3.37am on May 10.
Detectives executed a warrant to obtain Chacon's phone records and analyzed the geolocation data, which indicated the location he had been at when Ms Pantoja vanished.
Ms Pantoja's remains were then discovered in the field area where Chacon's phone had pinged.
A search of the area yielded the haunting discovery and police confirmed her identity from the jewellery she was wearing.
Shockingly, she was lying in the coffee table that was missing from her apartment.
An autopsy is pending to reveal Pandoja's cause of death, while Chacon was taken into custody and charged with her murder.
He is being held at the Midland County Detention Center and his bond is set at a staggering $3,000,000.
