PHOENIX — Phoenix police say a vehicle belonging to 37-year-old Irene Luevano, who has been missing for several days, has been located, but police say she has not been found.
Phoenix police say the vehicle was located near 107th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road. They say the missing person case remains open, and they are still actively searching for Irene.
Family tells ABC15 that Irene and her boyfriend Jorge Lara, known as George, were living together. We're told the couple was driving in a Chevy Impala on Saturday night when they decided to go out to a bar near 27th Avenue and Camelback Road.
They even bumped into one of her sisters there before closing time and invited her over.
"I just wished I would have listened to her that night and would have come here. She could have probably still been here,” says Irene’s sister.
At approximately 4 a.m. Sunday morning, Luevano called family, telling them that she had been stabbed in the neck by her boyfriend, police say.
After that, phone calls to Irene were unanswered.
The family felt something was wrong, saying George was the jealous type. Phoenix police say they questioned him as he was being treated at a hospital with what are believed to be self-inflicted stab wounds.
Police ultimately arrested him in an unrelated forgery case. According to court documents, Lara admitted to buying a forged Arizona ID card and social security card. He also admitted to working for the Sinaloa cartel selling and delivering illegal pills around the state.
Detectives checked in with Irene's family on Monday after Lara's arrest.
“Well, I'm glad they got him and they're talking to him but I hope he has a heart and tells the officers where my daughter is. I know she's alive; I know she's alive. I can feel it,” says Irene’s mother.
Details on how Irene's vehicle was tracked down Tuesday have not been released. It's unclear if police found any evidence that will help them with her case inside the vehicle.
