Police collaborate across state lines in missing Marinette woman case

Wednesday, Feb. 11, update: The City of Marinette Police Department shared on their Facebook page that Cartagena. While the department wrote that additional information will be released "as soon as possible," a GoFundMe created by Cartagena's older brother Alpachino shared that she passed away.

 

MARINETTE – A man arrested Feb. 5 in Minnesota for allegedly fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle is thought to be connected to the disappearance of 24-year-old Gabriella Alexis Cartagena who had previously made a call of distress from Red Arrow Park, according to information on Facebook.

 

Wright County Sheriff’s Office in Buffalo, Minnesota, arrested Robert Chilcote, 29, during an attempted traffic stop. He fled from the traffic stop and was apprehended, Wright County Sheriff’s Captain Ryan Ferguson said. He is being held on local charges of allegedly fleeing a peace officer’s vehicle and second-degree assault. He also faces a fugitive warrant from Wisconsin, where extradition is expected.

 

“It is the same person and the same vehicle, as far as we are aware. Our contact was related to information we received from Marinette,” Ferguson said.

 

Chilcote was the sole occupant in the red Toyota Prius pulled over in Minnesota, Ferguson said. Wright County Sheriff’s Office had no information on Cartagena’s whereabouts, and referred a reporter back to Marinette Police Department.

 

Cartagena was last seen at about 7:20 p.m. on Feb. 4 near N2330 Shore Drive in Marinette, near the Little Country Club boat launch. About 20 minutes earlier, she had called out in distress, saying “Please don’t shoot me,” according to information posted on Facebook. Her phone’s location at the time was at Red Arrow Park in Marinette, the post said.

 

A red Toyota Prius with Wisconsin plates that was thought to be involved was spotted between 9:25 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. the same evening on U.S. 41 in Menominee, Mich. Whether Cartagena or the man she was with were in the vehicle wasn’t clear, but the Menominee County Sheriff’s Office sought the footage.

 

Upon contacting local enforcement offices, a Facebook post was cited as the main source.
This post contained the following description of Cartagena: white/Latin Hispanic female, 5-foot-7-inches tall and weighing about 129 pounds with brown hair. She was last seen wearing black joggers, tan slippers and a black robe. She reportedly was with a Caucasian male with long brown hair when she was reported missing.

 

Marinette County Police Chief Jon LaCombe said Feb. 9 a “person of interest” was in custody, without providing details, while the search for Cartagena continued. LaCombe’s announcement also said Marinette was working with Wright County, Minn., law enforcement.

 

Anyone with information about Cartagena’s whereabouts is asked to contact Marinette Police Detective Zack Neumann at zneumann@marinette.wi.us or Marinette Menominee Crimestoppers at www.mmcrimestoppers.com. To provide video footage of the red Prius, contact Menominee County 911 at 906-863-6614.