MARINA RODRIGUEZ - 14 yo (2006)/ POI: Francisco Rogel - Hollis OK

A 14-year-old girl is found murdered and police want to talk to the
last person said to have seen her. Hollis police in this far
southwestern Oklahoma town are not calling Francisco Rogel a suspect
but a “material witness to a homicide.”


Authorities are investigating a report that Rogel may have been seen in San Antonio restaurant.

The
teenager, Marina Rodriguez, was reported missing in Sept 2006. Days
later, her body was found by a search team a few blocks from her home.
An autopsy ruled her death a homicide by suffocation.

The
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) and Hollis police are
looking for Rogel. They say he’s a Hispanic male who stands 5 feet, 10
inches tall, weighs approximately 180 pounds, and is in his late 30s.

He is from Mexico and possibly has left Oklahoma for that country or
Amarillo where family members live. Rogel may have cut his hair and
shaved his mustache.

If anyone has information about Rogel's whereabouts, please contact the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017.

http://www.ok.gov/osbi/Press_Room/2006_Press_Releases/PR-2006-10-19_Warrant_Issued_in_Hollis_Homicide.html

seems like this is a cold case where nothing is being done to solve this crime - or at least it isn't being reported on. very sad for the family

Authorities still looking for Francisco Rogel
 

Francisco Rogel

HOLLIS--  The rush to find the man who was last seen with 14-year-old Marina Rodriguez is intensifying.  The OSBI has reported that the main person of interest, Francisco Rogel, may have gone back to his home country, Mexico.  But Rodriguez's family says he should've been behind bars the day after she disappeared.  They say it's possible he's in Mexico, but they also say his family in Mexico knows about Rodriguez's death and they're not happy about it.

On Wednesday, the family's worst fear came true.  The OSBI says a body found this weekend in Hollis is, in fact, that of a teenage girl who'd been missing for two weeks.  The medical examiner says 14-year-old Marina Rodriguez died from asphyxiation.

7 News is also learning that investigators are trying to confirm stories that a police officer drove him to the Lawton area and dropped him off.  At this point this story hasn't been verified.

For the past five years Joe Tilton was Marina's mentor.  When she went missing September 25, he knew it was out of her character.  They turned to Hollis police for help, asking for an Amber Alert.  Tilton said police told her they didn't qualify because there were reported sightings and rumors.  Tilton says those rumors cost them dearly.  He says they might not have been able to save Marina's life, but they could've caught the man they think killed her, Francisco Rogel. 

Nobody suspected he could harm Rodriguez, even the teen herself.  But they say all the signs pointed to Rogel after Marina disappeared.  Tilton says he and a friend found evidence linking Rogel to the teen's disappearance.  He says police asked them if they suspected Rogel and they said yes.

Hollis Police Chief Robert Hawkins says his department talked to Rogel and they had no reason to suspect he was involved in Rodriguez' disappearance.  Hawkins told 7 News every lead they obtained led them to believe the girl was still in town and alive.

Chief Hawkins does admit they did get suspicious when Rogel left town. The family says the suspicion still wasn't enough for police to launch a search for her.  Police told family members they just didn't have the manpower.  

Faced with little help from police, family members organized their own search party.  And on Sunday, just 45 minutes after they started looking, they found Rodriguez body in a creek bed, covered with weeds about a half-mile from her home

The OSBI can't confirm how long Marina had been dead, but they say it had been for some time.

If you've seen Francisco Rogel call the OSBI or police immediately.

Marina Rodriguez's funeral is set for this Friday at 10:30 A. M. at the Hollis United Methodist Church.  An account at all Bankfirst locations has also been established to help her family.


http://www.kswo.com/story/5528441/authorities-still-looking-for-francisco-rogel