Maria Dolores Rosales Pacheco

Pacheco, circa 1996

  • Missing Since 07/07/1996
  • Missing From Modesto, California
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race Hispanic
  • Date of Birth 06/19/1965 (58)
  • Age 31 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'4, 120 pounds
  • Associated Vehicle(s) Red 1987 Hyundai with tinted windows and missing trim on the rear passenger door (accounted for)
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Black hair, brown eyes. Pacheco may go by the names Maria Dolores Rosales and/or Maria Dolores Pacheco. Her middle name may be spelled "Delores." Pacheco's nicknames are Lola and Lolita. She speaks Spanish.

Details of Disappearance

Pacheco's friends last saw her on July 7, 1996, when she went to visit them in Ceres, California. She also attended church in her hometown of Modesto, California that day, and went to a Wal-Mart store afterwards. It has been established that she arrived at her home at 11:00 p.m. and made a phone call.

Pacheco had asked a friend to call her at 4:00 a.m. to wake her up so she could complete household chores before reporting to work at the Valley Fresh Inc. plant in Turlock, California. Pacheco's friend made the call, but no one answered the phone.

Pacheco's husband claims he saw at 6:30 the following morning in a parking lot near Crows Landing and Hatch roads in Modesto and that she gave him their young daughter, but this has not been confirmed. She never appeared at work, never notified her employer that she would be absent, and never picked up her last paycheck.

Pacheco's car was found abandoned in the 2000 block of Seattle Street in Modesto sometime after her disappearance, a few blocks away from where she was reportedly last seen. The vehicle is a red 1987 Hyundai with tinted windows and missing trim on the rear passenger door.

Her identification was also found, but there was no sign of her. She has four children and separated from her husband the month before she went missing.

A few days before she disappeared, Pacheco opened a bank account with cash. She is described as a woman who was regular in her habits and unlikely to leave without warning. Her case remains unsolved. Foul play is suspected.

Investigating Agency

  • Modesto Police Department 209-572-9500

Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated January 31, 2007; distinguishing characteristics and details of disappearance updated.