had become evidence of two. and then three. then four. then five. then six. all six sets of remains were found within 20 yards of each other. reporter: dan valdez, who d been wondering for years where his daughter was, saw his most cherished hopes and his most dreaded fears placed on a collision course. when they found the second, third, and fourth sets i said to myself i have to realistically look at this, that michelle i m sure probably is out there. reporter: at times detective ida lopez was out there too. along with practically every other member of the albuquerque police department and forensic experts from the fbi. digging, scraping, sifting. the reality, it was kind of
i just said, the information you gave me was plenty. of course, there was more dan needed to do that evening. he would have to tell michelle s 12 year old daughter angelica. and i said, angelica, detective lopez just told us that your mother has been positively i.d. d as one of the west mesa women. and that s when angelica looked at me and started crying. she said, no, don t tell me that, you re lying to me. don t lie to me. i said, honey, i m not. i m telling you the truth. it was a scene that no doubt had played out earlier at the family home of victoria chavez. but for the families of the other women on ida s list, the waiting and wondering would go on for months. for ida lopez, there was the fear that her nightmare prediction was coming true. i just always felt that if you find one you re going to find them all. and for albuquerque s homicide detectives, there was
to myself, i have to realistically look at this, that michelle i m sure probably is out there. at times detective ida lopez was out there, too, along with practically every other member of of the albuquerque police department and forensic experts from the fbi, digging, scraping, sifting. the reality of it was kind of like, god, this is not happening. it s stuff you read about. then came seven, eight, nine, ten, 11. it turned out all were women and all with the same name, jane doe. and ida lopez couldn t help but wonder if these dry bones were the women she had been looking for. you know, i just didn t know with so much going through my mind. over the years, ida s list to of the lost had become two dozen women that fit the same profile, young drug-addicted hispanic
a little bit and said, it s okay, you know, it s okay. and then she says is there anything that we can do? do you need anything? i said, no. i said, just the information you gave me was plenty. reporter: of course there was more dan needed to do that evening. he would have to tell michelle s 12-year-old daughter, angelica. and i said, angelica. i said, detective lopez just told us that your mother has been positively i.d. d as one of the west mesa women victims one of the west mesa women. and that s when angelica looked at me and started crying. she said, no, don t tell me that. you re lying to me. don t lie to me. it s i said, honey, i m not. i m telling you the truth. reporter: it was a scene that no doubt had played out earlier at the family home of victoria chavez. but for the families of the
then six. all six sets of remains were found within 20 yards of each other. reporter: dan valdez, who d been wondering for years where his daughter was, saw his most cherished hopes and his most dreaded fears placed on a collision course. when they found the second, third, and fourth sets i said to myself i have to realistically look at this, that michelle i m sure probably is out there. reporter: at times detective ida lopez was out there, too. along with practically every other member of the albuquerque police department and forensic experts from the fbi. digging, scraping, sifting. the reality of it was kind of like this is not happening. you know, it s stuff you read about. reporter: then came seven. eight. nine. ten. 11. it turned out all were women. and all with the same name. jane doe. and ida lopez couldn t help but