Missing
Elvira Rivera Babb
Babb, approximately 2016; Emmanuel Espinoza
Date and time person was reported missing : 06/29/2016
Missing location (approx) :
Vallejo, California
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
Asian
DOB : 03/05/1959 (62)
Age at the time of disappearance: 57 years old
Height / Weight : 5'1, 119 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Asian female. Black hair, black eyes. Babb is of Filipino descent. Her nickname is Elvie. Her ears are pierced.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Babb was last seen in Vallejo, California on June 29, 2016, when a coworker dropped her off at a fish market after work. She has never been heard from again.
At 8:45 p.m. the next day, her son got a text messAge at the time of disappearance: from an unknown number, demanding a $60,000 ransom for Babb's safe return and threatening to kill her if her son didn't pay or went to the police. He replied to the messAge at the time of disappearance: , but got no response. He thought it might be a joke, but when he checked her apartment, her Chihuahua was dead and Babb herself was gone. There were no indications of forced entry.
Babb's son stated she would be an unlikely candidate for ransom kidnapping; she worked for an orthotics lab and was not wealthy, and had recently filed for bankruptcy. She lived alone with her dog in the 100 block of Daniels Avenue Vallejo, and her son said she had no known enemies and he couldn't think of anyone who would have wanted to hurt her.
Police arrested four suspects in early July: Emmanuel Espinoza, who knows Babb, Jalon Brown, Lovely Rauzol and Larry Young. They were all charged with ransom kidnapping. Espinoza, called the "primary suspect," knew Babb and had previously lived with her daughter in Babb's apartment for years.
In August, the charges against Espinoza were upgraded to murder during ransom kidnapping. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. The kidnapping charges against the other three suspects were dropped in September, but Brown and Young were charged with acting as accessories to a felony. Rauzol was cleared of all charges.
The case against the three suspects is pending. Babb has never been found and is presumed dead.
Other information and links : ncy
Vallejo Police Department
707-648-4488
September 2021 updates and sources
California Attorney General's Office
People Magazine
Elvira Babb's Facebook pageheader
The Sacramento Bee
ABC 7
CBS News
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
