Seaman Angelina Petra Resendiz, 21, was last seen May 29, 2025, at the Miller Hall barracks at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service said Tuesday, June 10, that they have found the body of Resendiz about 9 miles from the base. (Photo courtesy of Kimberly Wimbish)
A sailor was detained by Navy investigators in connection with the death of a fellow sailor following the discovery of her body nearly two weeks after she disappeared.
Charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice are pending against an unidentified sailor that Navy investigators believe is connected to the disappearance of Seaman Angelina Petra Resendiz, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service said Tuesday.
Resendiz, a 21-year-old culinary specialist, was last seen at about 10 a.m. on May 29 at the Miller Hall barracks at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
Navy investigators and local police recovered Resendiz’s body on Monday in the Broad Creek area of Norfolk, an off-base wooded area about nine miles from the installation. NCIS confirmed the identity of the body late Tuesday through DNA testing, the investigative service said.
The Norfolk Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an autopsy, NCIS said.
“NCIS remains committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Resendiz to ensure accountability and justice,” the investigative service said.
After the DNA results were confirmed Tuesday, the family of Resendiz issued a statement criticizing the Navy for failing to notify them of Resendiz’s disappearance through “proper channels.” The family learned Resendiz was missing various ways, including fellow sailors and news reports, according to a statement issued Tuesday by Kimberly Wimbish, a local publicist working on behalf of the family of Resendiz.
Resendiz’s disappearance prompted a state-wide critically missing adult alert on June 3 — five days after she was last seen or in contact with family and friends. NCIS shared on social media a missing person flyer for Resendiz on June 6. Naval Station Norfolk shared the NCIS flyer the next day, June 7 — more than a week after she disappeared from the base.
“The family demands accountability for oversight that put her life at risk and for mishandling that delayed justice, emphasizing the urgent need to address how official channels failed to notify them promptly,” according to the family’s statement.
The Navy’s failure to provide timely and official notification was “unacceptable,” the family said.
On a GoFundMe page, Esmeralda Castle, Resendiz’s mother, said she aims to have a protest calling for the military to reform its treatments of missing women.
“[Our] determination is relentless — for Angelina, for all women, and for every family suffering in silence. Justice must be served,” the family said.
A Texas native, Resendiz reported to the USS James E. Williams, a Norfolk-based destroyer, in February 2024. She enlisted in the Navy in August 2023.
“Angelina was a loving daughter who always cared for others. Her disappearance has left a void in their hearts, and [we] refuse to let her suffering be in vain,” the family said.
