Carson City deputies will continue today to examine a truck they hope will provide clues in the case of a woman missing two weeks, since her 3-year-old son said she had been killed by a man now in custody in Utah.
Juan Carlos Tellez, arrested Friday in Salt Lake City, drove the 1992 GMC truck there after Bertha Anguiano, 33, disappeared. He was arrested Friday after allegedly brandishing a weapon at police when they tried to speak to him.
Anguiano, who possibly was having an affair with Tellez, 36, was last seen dropping another son off at school. The bloodied 3-year-old was found in a store parking lot in Dayton, about 15 miles from his home.
"The focus is on the vehicle," Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong said. "We're doing this absolutely by the numbers - very slowly and very meticulously."
Tellez remains uncooperative, the sheriff said. "He's not offering any assistance whatsoever," Furlong said.
Meanwhile, he said, Lyon County Search and Rescue crews searched a desolate southeast section of the county on Monday, but found nothing.
"The problem is, we don't know where to look," said Undersheriff Steve Albertsen.
On Friday, Carson City investigators were watching the truck in a parking lot in Salt Lake City when Tellez tried to leave the lot in another vehicle. He was arrested after allegedly pointing a loaded Glock pistol at officers, and is being held without bail on one count of aggravated assault. The truck was hauled to Carson City over the weekend. On Monday, Carson District Judge Bill Maddox signed a search warrant requested by investigators so they could conduct a forensic examination of the vehicle.
The results of the search have been sealed by the judge at Albertsen's request.
He said that since Tellez's incarceration, Immigration and Naturalization Services has a file on Tellez under the name "Israel Tellez."
"He appears to be (in the country) illegally," Albertsen said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact F.T. Norton at 881-1213 or ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com
