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 and local police are investigating whether a body discovered nine miles from the base are the remains of Resendiz. (Photo courtesy of Kimberly Wimbish)
Navy investigators and local police said they have recovered a body 9 miles from a Navy base in Virginia and are awaiting test results to determine whether it is a sailor who has been missing since May.
“At this time, we are awaiting the results of DNA testing to determine whether recently discovered remains are those of [Angelina Petra Resendiz]. We remain prayerful and hopeful for clarity and resolution,” according to a statement issued late Monday by Kimberly Wimbish, a local publicist working on behalf of the family of Seaman Angelina Petra Resendiz.
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.
Her family’s statement was shared the same day that Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Norfolk Police Department responded to a report of a body in an off-base wooded area. The body was found in the Broad Creek area, about 9 miles from the Norfolk base, according to local news reports.
The Norfolk Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an autopsy, NCIS said. No arrests have been made, and no charges have been filed as of Tuesday.
Resendiz’s disappearance prompted a state-wide critically missing adult alert on June 3. Resendiz’s family has said her disappearance is out of character.
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 is a loving, compassionate and devoted individual who has always prioritized the well-being of her family and those around her. Her absence has caused immense grief for all who know and love her,” her family said in a statement.
The sailor’s family has been critical of the Navy’s search efforts. On a GoFundMe page, Esmeralda Castle, Resendiz’s mother, said she aims to have a protest calling for the military to reform its treatment of missing women cases.
“Since her disappearance, the United States Navy has been quiet and ambiguous about searching for [Angelina]. With all the technology at the Navy’s disposal, there is no reason for a sailor to go missing or stay missing,” she said.
Naval Surface Forces, which commands the Navy’s destroyers, said last week that the Navy was fully cooperating with the NCIS investigation.
