WOODBRIDGE, Va. — With no answers about Jose Guerrero's whereabouts, his family and friends have turned to prayer hoping that the young father is found safe and sound.
Community members gathered at a Woodbridge shopping center parking lot on New Year's Eve to hold a candlelight vigil to bring the 20-year-old home. His loved ones wore yellow and white to symbolize the faith and hope they still have to find the man they called 'Chepe.'
"This is like a nightmare that you want to go away," said Guerrero's girlfriend, Sheila Perez to WUSA9.
On Dec. 21 the 20-year-old told his girlfriend he would be back in five minutes, but he never returned home. Two days later, the car he was driving was found about a mile and a half from his home on Bel Air Road near Jeffries Road.
Desperate for answers community members have been conducting their own searches for the past 10 days across Prince William County.
"If you have any information that may help us, please speak up. Don't be afraid to speak up. Please, we really need your help," said Perez who shares a 10-month-old daughter with Guerrero.
Ruby Bermudez says on Saturday they started their search around 9 a.m. and concluded at around 4:30 p.m. "We went to Occoquan River, we had some kayaks and people went into Occoquan River," said Bermudez whose son is a close friend of Guerrero's.
The groups have been focusing their searches in wooded areas and parks. The family says they found what they believed to be a trail of blood at Neabsco Park, and during their search Saturday, they think they found potentially more evidence.
"We went back to Neabsco Park and found the trail of blood and we found more blood. We are not sure if it is from my son but it was a good amount of blood," said Andrea Salgado, Guerrero's mother who has been leading the search efforts.
The family is offering a $5,000 reward for valid information about where he is. If you have information, they're asking you to call (703) 792-6500.
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