Navy sailor Angelina Resendiz, 21, was last seen on May 29, 2023, at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. After being missing for nearly two weeks, her body was discovered in a wooded area on June 10. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) confirmed the identity on June 11. Following the discovery, an unidentified Navy sailor was placed in pretrial confinement, and charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice are pending.
The NCIS stated that they have actively collaborated with various law enforcement agencies to pursue leads in finding Resendiz and seeking accountability for her death. Esmerelda Castle, Resendiz’s mother, expressed her family’s commitment to justice, lamenting the loss of her “kind and compassionate” daughter.
Resendiz was a culinary specialist assigned to the USS James E. Williams. Family members criticized the Navy’s response to her disappearance, stating that efforts were “quiet and ambiguous.” A GoFundMe campaign, which raised over $10,000 to assist Castle in the search, highlighted the apparent lack of action from the Navy, urging that with available technology, a sailor shouldn’t go missing. Castle’s statement pointed out that friends and authorities were aware of her disappearance, but the response was inadequate, emphasizing a systemic failure in handling cases of missing women.
Castle’s advocacy extends to urging the U.S. government and officials, including President Biden, to address issues that allowed her daughter to go missing and to reassess the handling of such cases in the military. The family is demanding accountability for systemic oversights that they believe contributed to her tragic fate, insisting on the need for reform and broader awareness regarding missing persons, especially women in military contexts.
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