KEIZER, Ore. (KOIN) — One year ago, Cynthia Martinez was seen leaving a Keizer bar with 2 men. She hasn’t been seen since.
Both the FBI and Crime Stoppers of Oregon are offering rewards for information that directly results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the disappearance of the 26-year-old woman mother of 4.
The family held a candlelight vigil for Cynthia on Monday night at Chalmers Park in Keizer. Cynthia would’ve turned 27 last Friday. So during the vigil, the family had a birthday celebration, complete with a cake and candles.
Her mother, Angelica Castillo, told KOIN 6 News on Monday the family is trying to keep going. This past year “feels like an eternity,” she said.
She said she and her ex-husband — Cynthia’s dad — are helping to take care of Cynthia’s children. The kids don’t know “what really happened to their mom.”
Martinez attended a friend’s quinceañera in Woodburn the day she disappeared, her first time going out since giving birth to her daughter Sophia, the Portland Tribune reports. Friends invited her to a bar in Keizer afterward to help her celebrate her 26th birthday.
Since the disappearance, Castillo said it’s “really frustrating and painful that we don’t know anything by now. And I think what gives me hope is that we have not found a body, either.”
The FBI is offering an $8000 reward, and Crime Stoppers of Oregon is offering up to $2500.
The case
Cynthia Martinez was last seen at Tequila Nights Bar & Grill at 3393 River Road North in Keizer at about 2:35 a.m. on July 16, 2017. She was seen leaving with 2 Hispanic men in a blue Honda Odyssey minivan.
One of the men she was seen leaving with, 30-year old Jaime Alvarez-Olivera, was named as a person of interest in the case in August 2017. That same month, it was reported the van had been located — but authorities hoped someone who recognized it would come forward with more information.
Alvarez-Olivera is believed to have left the Marion County area on July 16, 2017, a short time after Martinez was last seen with him. He has not been located since.
‘My grandkids need their mom back’
Castillo is praying for her daughter’s return. She also wants others to pray and to provide any information that may have, “even if they think it’s not a big deal. I would like them to just call it in. Because I’m just praying sometime soon we get a certain tip that tells us, ‘Hey, we saw this person do this,’ or, you know, ‘They drop her off here.’ Or something. Anything.”
She pleaded with Alvarez-Olivera’s family. “Please say something if you know their whereabouts.”
This past Friday was Cynthia’s birthday, but the family decided not to celebrate. Castillo said she thinks about her “every day, every second.”
Martinez is about 5-foot-1 with long black hair, brown eyes and has several tattoos that say “Dominguez,” and “Trust No One” on her chest.
“Every time I see a young lady with her body structure or her color, you know, I always think about her,” she said. “And, of course, when I have the grandkids, it’s like, you know, a reminder every day that their mommy is not with them.”
Cynthia Martinez is funny and lovable and likes to spend time with the family, her mother said.
“She would come after work every day and have dinner with us.”
Angelica Castillo loves her daughter and wants her safe return.
“My grandkids need their mom back,” she said. “I need my daughter back.”
