Deborah Suzzette Hernandez Moberg

Deborah, circa 1987; Ray Moberg, circa 2019

  • Missing Since 01/09/1987
  • Missing From San Antonio, Texas
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 12/13/1968 (55)
  • Age 18 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'3, 100 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A light blue long-sleeved sweater and blue jeans.
  • Associated Vehicle(s) Red Ford Mustang hatchback (accounted for)
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair. Deborah's nickname is Debbie. Her ears are pierced.

Details of Disappearance

Deborah was last seen in San Antonio, Texas on January 9, 1987. She was abducted from her home by her stepfather, Ray Moberg, on January 7, two days before she was last seen. Ray also abducted her eight-year-old half-sister and released the child at her grandmother's house the following day, but Deborah has never been heard from again.

In the early morning hours of January 11, Ray was arrested at a motel on the unrelated charge of aggravated sexual assault of Deborah's half-sister, who is his biological daughter. Among his belongings at the motel were 94 photographs depicting naked young girls and a male engaging in sexual activity with young girls. For six months he refused to say where Deborah was. Then he admitted he had shot her to death and disposed of her body in a dumpster.

Extensive searches for Deborah's body were fruitless, but authorities believed Ray's story. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison for Deborah's homicide. Ray is also serving a forty-year sentence for burglary and sexually assaulting two children who were three and five years old at the time; they were in the photogaphs recovered from Ray's motel room. He has repeatedly been denied parole in the years since 1987. A photo of him is posted with this case summary.

Deborah's half-sister told police that while her father was holding her captive, he was driving Deborah's red Ford Mustang hatchback. At one point he pulled up near a body of water with cattails and telephone poles and dropped something out of the back of the vehicle.

Police searched various places for Deborah's body, but it has never been located. She was a senior at MacArthur High School in 1987. Foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.

Investigating Agency

  • San Antonio Police Department 210-207-7484

Updated 5 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated October 28, 2024; four pictures added, details of disappearance updated.