Four people have been arrested in New Mexico after the brother-in-law of Albuquerque’s city council president was found dead.
Albert Peña, 67, was reported missing in Torrance County on January 1, the Albuquerque Journal reported. He was last seen at a business in Willard, about 13 miles from his home in Mountainair, the day before.
“At the beginning, we were very concerned about something serious occurring because my brother-in-law had a lot of dogs and he was never, ever not home to feed his dogs,” said Albuquerque City Council President Klarissa Peña. “Obviously, we didn’t know that he was the victim of a homicide, and you never want to think those thoughts, but later learning through all the investigations that it was a result of that has just been a nightmare.”
Klarissa Peña was sworn into office on January 4 and pleaded for prayers for the “safe return” of her husband’s brother during her speech, according to KOB.
In a statement after her brother-in-law’s body was found, Peña thanked the community and said that he leaves behind his wife, a son, and multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as nieces and nephews.
“We also ask you to join our family and thank all the law enforcement agencies who worked together in locating Albert,” she wrote. “We respect the active investigation in Otero County. We ask for public patience as they work to provide answers to this tragedy.”
The Otero County Sheriff’s Office said it “obained information regarding Mr. Peña’s whereabouts” and “conducted an extensive search in the area of West High Road in High Rolls,” about two hours from where he was last seen, on Friday.
That search ended when they found a body, later positively identified as Albert Peña. The state medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine cause and manner of death. Authorities do consider his death a homicide.
The sheriff’s office said four people were arrested “in connection with this incident” but provided no further information.
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[Featured image: Albert Peña/Torrance County Sheriff’s Office]