Missing Navy Sailor Found Dead in Virginia, Another Sailor In Custody

What exactly happened to Angelina Resendiz remains shrouded in mystery, but her mother is determined to uncover the truth.

Resendiz, a Navy sailor, was last seen on May 29 in her barracks at Miller Hall, Naval Station Norfolk. A missing person’s alert was issued by Virginia State Police on June 3. This alert was rescinded on Tuesday after the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) announced that a body recovered on Monday had been identified by the medical examiner as the missing sailor. Following this grim discovery, another sailor has been taken into custody.

Esmeralda Castle, Angelina’s mother, expresses a profound desire to speak with the individual believed to be involved in the death of her 21-year-old daughter. She seeks not the gruesome details of how her daughter died or why her body was left in a wooded area miles from her naval base, but rather a sense of closure. “This can’t happen again,” Castle asserted, highlighting a desperate plea for prevention.

Angelina had harbored dreams of a culinary career in the Navy, aspiring to cook elaborate meals for presidents and world leaders.

Virginia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has informed CNN that “the cause and manner of death is pending,” declining to provide further elaboration at this time.

NCIS has confirmed that a sailor has been placed in pretrial confinement in connection with Seaman Resendiz’s death, with charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice pending. The individual’s identity has not yet been released.

Castle recounted that on May 29, her daughter’s friends began contacting her, reporting that Resendiz was last seen with another sailor in the barracks. It was highly uncharacteristic for her “fun-loving” daughter not to call, or to miss a day interacting with her sister on Snapchat, breaking a 400-day streak.

NCIS has reaffirmed its commitment, stating to CNN, “NCIS remains committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Resendiz to ensure accountability and justice.”

This case is drawing unsettling parallels to the 2020 death of Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old private first class who vanished from the parking lot of her barracks and was later found in a shallow grave near Fort Cavazos in Texas. The primary suspect in Guillen’s disappearance was identified as a fellow Army specialist.

Resendiz’s body was discovered in a wooded area over six miles away from the barracks where she was last seen. “I don’t know if she was alive… I don’t know if that’s where her life was taken, but that’s where she was found,” Castle shared, grappling with the agonizing uncertainty.

Geraldine Alston, a local resident, described witnessing agents carrying a white body bag from the wooded area behind her home on June 9. She later learned from the news that the body belonged to Resendiz. “I’m still in shock,” Alston stated, her home’s backyard bordering the discovery site by merely 200 feet. She recalled the hot, humid, and intermittently rainy afternoon as agents emerged from the woods with evidence in paper bags. During a phone call with CNN, while walking towards the site, she came across a bouquet of fresh flowers with a cardboard sign reading “Rest In Peace Angelina.” “I don’t feel safe,” Alston confessed, haunted by the proximity of the tragedy.

Castle finds solace in continually looking at her daughter’s picture. “She’s gone. She’s in a better place,” she tells herself, a mantra of acceptance amidst grief.

Resendiz was relatively new to the military, having joined the Navy in August 2023. At 21, she was full of dreams, with a passion for singing, music, and painting. After completing recruit and Naval Technical training, she was assigned to the USS James E. Williams in February 2024, a US Navy spokesperson confirmed.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and coworkers of Culinary Specialist Seaman Angelina Resendiz, assigned to the USS James E. Williams (DDG 95),” Commander, Naval Surface Atlantic Public Affairs expressed in a statement to CNN.

Castle has initiated a GoFundMe page to raise funds for her daughter’s justice, and plans a vigil on June 20 in the Rio Grande Valley, Resendiz’s hometown. The funeral service remains unannounced, pending the release of Angelina’s body.

Remarkably, Castle expresses a desire to speak with the person believed to be responsible for her daughter’s death, driven by a profound need to forgive. “I… want to get to a place where I can forgive,” Castle stated, illustrating a powerful pursuit of healing beyond vengeance.