Las Vegas police seek help finding persons of interest in cold case

Wendy Araiza always held out hope that one day her missing brother would be found alive.

Aldo Araiza Jr., 20, of North Las Vegas, vanished in July 2000 after getting into a vehicle in North Las Vegas with two men he knew. The Araiza family would spend the next two decades tortuously clinging to the belief that, someday, Aldo would return.

“The uncertainty of it, wondering, ‘Is he alive or is he not alive?’” Wendy Araiza said. “‘Does he have food to eat? Is he homeless?’ We would constantly go look at the shelters to see if we saw him, and we wouldn’t, but we always hoped for the best outcome.”

The family’s hopes were dashed this July. Metropolitan police cold case detectives notified the Araiza family that remains found in a desert area off Lee Canyon Road 16 years ago were confirmed by a Texas forensic science team to be Aldo Araiza’s.

On Wednesday morning, police said they now need the public’s help in finding two persons of interest, Jose Manuel Rizo and Rafael Flores Rizo, in the case, as well as three other potential witnesses.

“Losing my brother has been very difficult for me and for my family,” Wendy Araiza said. “My family and I are asking for the public’s help in getting these people, and getting my brother justice.”

Cold case heats up

Metro police Lt. Ray Spencer said Aldo Araiza Jr. was reported missing to North Las Vegas police on July 31, 2000. Authorities conducted an extensive investigation, but they could not locate him.

“He was last seen getting into a vehicle with his friends near his home on Crawford Street in North Las Vegas,” Spencer said. “He had been reported missing by his father the following day when he never returned home.”

Four years later, on Jan. 8, 2004, Metro police were called to a desert area off Lee Canyon Road near U.S. Highway 95 for a report of human remains found by NV Energy surveyors.

“No identification could be made at that time, so the person was referred to as John Lee Canyon Doe,” Spencer said.

With few leads, the case went cold. But this year, Metro cold case detectives and North Las Vegas police were able to confirm that the bones found in the desert were, in fact, Aldo Araiza’s.

The identification was made by NamUs, a forensic science unit based in North Texas. The scientific team conducts forensic odontology and fingerprint examination, as well as forensic anthropology and DNA analyses through the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification laboratories.

Persons of interest vanish, too

Spencer said the joint investigation by Metro and North Las Vegas police ultimately identified Rafael Flores Rizo and his uncle, Jose Manuel Rizo, as “persons of interest.” Police also identified the two men by the names Rafael Flores and Manuel Rizo.

Detectives ultimately learned that the pair were living and working in the Reno-Sparks area, Spencer said.

“Detectives from North Las Vegas and Metro traveled to the Sparks-Reno area to conduct interviews with both of them,” Spencer said. “When both suspects realized that detectives from Las Vegas were in the Reno area, they both quit their jobs, walked off, and disappeared the same day.”

Spencer said it is possible the men are now in Mexico. However, they could still be in Nevada. He declined to offer what police believe is a motive in the case, but he said Aldo Araiza was shot to death.

Police also are looking for two women known only as “Maria and Janette,” who were friends with Aldo Araiza. The women are believed to be possible witnesses. Another potential witness, Enrique Lopez, lived near the man when he disappeared.

Wendy Araiza and her mother, Juana Araiza, pleaded on Wednesday for anyone with information to call police. Doing so, Wendy Araiza said, could give her family peace after 20-plus years of suffering and sadness.

“We are pleading to the public to come forth and do something right,” she said. “Do a good thing. It has been so many years. What do you have to fear now? Just think about all the hurt it has brought to my family.”

Tipsters can call Metro homicide at 702-828-3521 or email homicide@lvmpd.com. Anyone who wants to remain anonymous may contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or submit tips online at www.CrimeStoppersOfNV.com. There is a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.