Police Probe Claims Two Missing Indiana Moms May Have Been Followed Before Their Jeep Plunged Into Michigan River

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Vanessa Bautista, 24, is pictured in an undated photo. Police are probing whether Bautista and Alexa Navarro, 23, were chased before they were found dead inside a car submerged in the Saint Joseph River in Niles, Michigan.Jam Press

The discovery of two missing young mothers inside a submerged Jeep has taken another troubling turn, with investigators now examining reports that the women may have been followed — or possibly chased — before their vehicle went down a steep embankment and into a Michigan river.

Vanessa Bautista, 24, and Alexa Navarro, 23, both from South Bend, Indiana, were found Tuesday night inside a Jeep Grand Cherokee recovered from the St. Joseph River in Niles, Michigan.

Authorities believe the vehicle left the road at around 4 a.m. Sunday, traveling down an embankment roughly 60 to 70 feet before reaching the water.

The women had been reported missing that same day.

Police Are Looking Into Reports They Were Followed

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Niles Police Chief James Millin confirmed investigators have received statements suggesting Bautista and Navarro may not have been traveling alone in the moments before the crash.

“There’s been statements made that possibly somebody was chasing the girl, so we’re investigating that, looking into it,” Millin said.

He stressed that investigators have not found evidence showing another vehicle physically forced the Jeep from the roadway.

Millin said authorities have heard different versions of the reports. Some people described the women as being “followed,” while others characterized it as a “chase.”

He also said investigators had received claims that the women may have been followed after leaving an establishment in Elkhart, Indiana, as well as reports that they were followed after reaching Niles.

Police are now working to determine whether those accounts are accurate and, if they are, whether they played any role in how the Jeep ended up in the river.

Their Final Route Is Raising Questions

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The results of the women’s autopsies and toxicology tests could take weeks to complete.WNDU

Another detail has added to the uncertainty surrounding the women’s final hours.

Jovani Ramirez, the father of Navarro’s 3-year-old child, said the location where the Jeep went off the road did not fit the route he was accustomed to taking with her.

“She would always take one route. Me and her would always take one route back and forth, which is Portage, which is so weird why she would come this way and take a left,” Ramirez said.

He said the unexpected route left him confused, but acknowledged that investigators would need time to establish what happened.

“It’s so weird to me, but we just have to let the police do what they do and start the investigation and see what’s going on. We’re just going to have to wait.”

Families Tracked Their Phones to Niles

Bautista and Navarro disappeared after being last seen in the area, prompting an extensive search involving dozens of relatives and friends.

Family members later tracked their phones to Niles, approximately 11 miles north of South Bend.

Before Navarro was found, her cousin Brandi Oritiz said the lack of communication immediately worried the family because it was unlike her to go so long without checking on her child.

“She always check in with us; regardless of who it is she hasn’t checked in on her child, and we know that’s really not like her at all, and that’s a problem,” Oritiz said.

The search ended tragically when the badly damaged Jeep was located underwater and recovered Tuesday night with both women inside.

The Western Michigan University Office of the Medical Examiner formally identified Bautista and Navarro on Thursday.

Police Explain Severe Damage to the Jeep

Images of the mangled Jeep also generated questions about what could have happened before it entered the water.

Millin cautioned against assuming the damage was evidence that another vehicle had struck or forced the Jeep from the road.

He explained that the vehicle traveled down a steep incline of approximately 60 to 70 feet and struck trees before reaching the river.

“A lot of people were concerned that the vehicle had a lot of damage and I don’t think they understand that the vehicle went off an embankment and down approximately 60 or 70 feet of a pretty steep incline, hitting trees and so on on the way down before it hit the water,” he said.

For now, police say there is no indication that an outside force physically pushed the Jeep off the roadway, although the circumstances remain under investigation.

Cause of Death Has Not Yet Been Determined

The official cause of death for both women remains undetermined.

Autopsies and toxicology testing are underway, but Millin said final results could take several weeks.

Investigators are therefore still trying to reconstruct several crucial parts of the women’s final journey: why they were traveling on that particular route, whether the reports that they were being followed are accurate, and whether another person or vehicle played any role before the Jeep left the road.

Navarro leaves behind a 3-year-old child. Bautista leaves behind two young children, ages 2 and 3.

For their families, the discovery of the Jeep answered the devastating question of where the two mothers had gone — but the reports surrounding their final drive have left investigators with another question still unresolved: what happened in the minutes before their vehicle disappeared down the embankment and into the St. Joseph River.