Santos was last seen leaving home en route to work in Los Angeles, California at 6:00 a.m. on October 15, 2004. She never arrived and has never been heard from again. She left behind a young daughter and is described as a devoted mother and responsible woman who would not have left without warning.

In May 2010, Aurangzeb Aiyoob "Simon" Manjra was charged with killing Santos and another woman, Esperanza Torio, who disappeared in 1996. Her body was found dumped on a roadside in Mexico a few days later, but it wasn't identified until 2009. Santos's body has never been recovered. A photo of Manjra is posted below this case summary. He is an immigrant from Pakistan who worked as a salesman, and had dated both women at the time each one disappeared. Investigators are trying to get a timeline of his life in the three decades preceding his arrest, to see if he could be linked to other missing or murdered people.

Manjra is awaiting trial for Torio and Santos's murders. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance due to the circumstances involved.

Above: Aurangzeb Manjra in 2010