Body found in suitcase along I-80 in Utah may be missing Las Vegas woman

Utah authorities are working with the Metropolitan Police Department to see if a female body found in a suitcase more than 400 miles north of Las Vegas is that of the woman last seen with her mother’s husband before he killed himself in November.

The body was found Thursday dumped off of Interstate 80 near the Great Saltair, according to media reports, but has not been identified. Lt. Justin Hoyal, spokesman for the Unified Police Department in Salt Lake County said it has “close similarities” to that of Susana Villalvazo, who was last seen in Las Vegas with 75-year-old Samuel Teran.

Hoyal said that the body is that of a middle-aged woman with long black hair. The body has a pink anti-cancer tattoo on one wrist and a scar on a breast.

Villalvazo was a breast cancer survivor, her family told the Review-Journal in November.

She and Teran were last seen at the family’s apartment on Nov. 5, police said. Detectives were alerted about blood found in the apartment when they were investigating their disappearance.

Two days later, fast-food restaurant employees alerted North Las Vegas police that they had encountered a man whose characteristics matched Teran, who they had seen in news releases.

When officers tried pulling Teran over as he left a Burger King, Teran shot himself in the head, police said. He later died at University Medical Center before he could tell detectives about Villalvazo’s whereabouts.

While searching for Villalvazo, Red Rock Search and Rescue, a volunteer group, said that they were looking for a large suitcase that the family reported missing from the home. The family believed Villalvazo’s body was in it.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites