MOSES LAKE, Wash. — The Moses Lake Police Department have announced that the body of Yanira Cedillos, the Moses Lake woman who went missing on March 4, 2022, has been found.
Moses Lake police say her body was found on Thursday, May 12 in a remote area in Walla Walla County off Highway 12 just outside of Wallula junction. Her body was then positively identified on Monday, May 16.
The suspect, Cedillos' ex-boyfriend, had his cell phone tracked in that area for several minutes the morning Cedillos went missing.
According to a Facebook post from the Moses Lake Police Department, detectives converged on the area Thursday evening, and within minutes, located a deceased woman in a sleeping bag covered with tree limbs and leaves. The Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office, Washington State Patrol Crime Lab and the Walla Walla County Coroner assisted in processing the crime scene.
At the time Cedillos' body was found, detectives were unable to identify her. The body was transported to the Spokane County Medical Examiner, where an autopsy was performed on Monday, May 16.
That morning, the examiner was able to confirm the body as Yanira Cedillos.
Detectives are now focusing on working with the Grant County Prosecutor's Office to convict the person responsible.
Cedillos' family shared the following statement with KREM 2:
Our lives have been a living nightmare since Yanira disappeared, but today we received the news we had been praying for. Yanira has been found and is coming home. Life will never be the same and we don’t know how we will move on without her especially her kids, but we find comfort knowing that she is resting and God will walk us through the painful days ahead. Yanira my sweet sister rest easy and know that we will take care of your babies. We will hold you in our hearts until we can hold you in our arms again. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to the entire community, family, friends, and news media, for the support during these last two months. A special thank you to the entire Moses Lake Police Department for never giving up and keeping their promise to not rest until Yanira was home.
From our family