Long Beach police reopen cold case of Filipina-Hispanic woman

Diana Rojas, who went missing in 2000, in an undated family photo. LONG BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT

LONG BEACH, California – Detectives have re-opened a cold case involving a Filipina-Hispanic woman who went missing 16 years ago, after an anonymous tip led them to believe she was killed.

Diana Raquel Rojas was 27 when she was last seen on Oct. 20, 2000, in her apartment in the 5500 block of Ackerfield Avenue, according to the Long Beach Police Department.

The anonymous tip led to an area in Ridgecrest that was excavated after topographical examination and cadaver dogs indicated the possibility of human remains buried there, officials said. No human remains were found during the excavation.

Rojas was a single mother to her then two-year-old daughter and worked at His Nesting Place, a church and women’s shelter, when she disappeared, her lawyers said. She was concerned about her personal safety related to her estranged husband.

Rojas is described as Filipino and Hispanic, 5 feet 2 inches tall, with brown hair and a light complexion. She also has scars on her back, authorities said.

Her vehicle, also still missing, was a 1992 black Nissan pickup truck with extended cab and white pinstripes, officers said. It had a Texas license plate, BY3242, and the driver’s side door lock and radio are missing.

Rojas was reportedly last seen wearing a pink-colored shirt with spaghetti straps, blue sweatpants with a “Winnie the Pooh” logo on the left leg and a blue zip-up jacket with a medical insignia on the left side.

For any information regarding Rojas’ whereabouts, contact Long Beach Police Homicide Detectives Mark Bigel and Todd Johnson at 562-570-7244.