Missing Renton business owner found dead in Mexico

Renton Police confirmed a 54-year-old Renton woman was found deceased in Mexicali, Mexico, two weeks after friends reported her missing.

Renton detectives suspected foul play in the disappearance of Reyna Hernandez, 54, a Renton small business owner, after friends reported her missing to police on Feb. 28, and an investigation found evidence of Hernandez being “taken against her will” with her vehicle missing.

Hernandez failed to return home, answer her cellphone, and show up to work at her hair salon for two days prior to the report, the Renton Reporter previously reported.

On March 8, Renton investigators contacted Mexican authorities after finding a Mexicali news article regarding an unidentified body found in a local cemetery on the Tijuana Highway, according to the police department.

According to the department, investigators provided enough information to Mexican authorities to identify Hernandez over the weekend.

According to the department, Mexican law enforcement officials have arrested a 61-year-old Renton resident in the case on unrelated charges. He remains in custody in Mexico as of the department’s March 11 news release.

Meeghan Black, a Renton Police spokesperson, said she lacked information regarding the connection between Hernandez and the suspect.

“Detectives have not been specific about the relationship, only saying it was a domestic violence crime,” Black said in an email.

According to the department, law enforcement recovered Hernandez’s vehicle in Mexico.

“We are working closely with Mexicali police and our U.S. federal partners to determine when and where Reyna was killed,” said Renton Police Cmdr. Chandler Swain in a news release.

After confirmation of Hernandez’s time and manner of death, detectives will determine the location of Hernandez’s homicide.

“If it happened in the U.S., authorities would seek to extradite the suspect to face charges in that jurisdiction,” according to the news release.