Missing
Indira Montiero
Montiero, approximately 2000
Date and time person was reported missing : 04/02/2000
Missing location (approx) :
Manhattan, New York
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
Hispanic
Age at the time of disappearance: 22 years old
Height / Weight : 5'4, 110 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Hispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Montiero's ears are pierced. She has rose tattoos on her back and on her right ankle. She may wear eyeglasses.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Montiero was last seen at her apartment in the 1800 block of 7th Avenue in the New York City borough of Manhattan on April 2, 2000. At approximately 7:00 p.m. the night before, she was speaking on the phone with a friend when her live-in boyfriend, Heriberto "Eddie" Palacio, was overheard screaming and swearing at her in the background.
Montiero has never been heard from again. Her boyfriend said he last saw her on April 2 when she went to a hairdresser's appointment, but the police found out she never visited a hairdresser that day. In fact, no one besides Palacio claims to have seen Montiero after April 1.
He never reported her missing; her brother did, on April 7. Palacio said he didn't approach the police about her disappearance because she had an order of protection against him and he feared he would be arrested.
Montiero left her clothes and beeper behind in her apartment. On April 2, the same day Palacio claims he last saw her, Montiero's wallet, identification and credit cards were found at a pay phone at a Mobil gas station next to the Grand Central Parkway near LaGuardia Airport, opposite the Delta Airlines terminal.
The gas station attendant who found the wallet didn't report his discovery for several days because he assumed the owner would return for it. Authorities believe whoever placed the wallet at the gas station did so in an attempt to mislead the investigation.
Palacio was arrested on an unrelated weapons charge in late April 2000 and authorities questioned him regarding Montiero's disappearance. He had a violent past; at Age at the time of disappearance: fourteen, he and an accomplice beat a man to death. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served two years in prison. In 1999, he was charged with attacking a female tenant in his apartment building, where he was superintendent; the outcome of that case is unknown.
Montiero's relationship with Palacio had always been troubled. She reportedly loved Palacio deeply, but in the two years that they were together she filed eleven domestic violence complaints against him and he filed four such complaints against her. She repeatedly bailed him out of jail after his arrests. They have a daughter together, who was a year old when Montiero vanished.
Montiero worked as an accounting clerk at the time of her disappearance and was studying accounting at Manhattan Community College. Her case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected.
Other information and links : ncy
New York Police Department
646-610-6914
September 2021 updates and sources
New York Police Department
The New York Daily News
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
October 12, 2004. April 2, 2011; Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: and Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
