In 2013, A 19-Year-Old College Student Mysteriously Disappeared And Was Found Dead In The Desert Two Months Later, Yet Her Case Remains Cold Today.

Nineteen-year-old Adrienne Celeste Salinas was an aspiring journalist attending GateWay Community College in Maricopa County, Arizona, back in 2013.

She had a boyfriend named Francisco and was known by her father, Rick, for her intelligence and unwavering motivation.

While attending college, Adrienne also met and became close with her two roommates– Shainey and Rebecca. And on June 14, 2013, the three roommates decided to host a birthday party at their apartment.

Later that night, Adrienne and Francisco reportedly got into a heated argument and left the apartment together.

They traveled to Francisco’s home, where they continued to quarrel. Then, Adrienne decided she wanted to leave and go home at about 3:00 a.m.

Francisco claimed that he insisted on driving Adrienne home, and they continued to bicker in the car.

Eventually, Adrienne allegedly exited her boyfriend’s car at a stoplight to walk the rest of the way home. Francisco then contacted Adrienne’s roommates to alert them that she was traveling alone and should be arriving shortly.

After arriving back at the party safely around 3:40 a.m., Adrienne saw that the birthday festivities were still going on.

FBI; pictured above is Adrienne

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She did not stick around, though. Instead, Adrienne packed an overnight bag and left her apartment yet again in hopes of spending the night with Francisco.

But, while driving to her boyfriend’s apartment, Adrienne got into a car accident. She reportedly cut off another vehicle and collided with a median.

The other driver did contact the police to report the accident, but Adrienne left before officers could arrive on the scene.

The young woman then returned to her apartment one last time following the accident. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, she had texted and called Francisco numerous times between 4:10 a.m. and 4:50 a.m. but received no response.

Finally, she texted Francisco, “I’m coming over,” before changing outfits and calling a taxi.

Adrienne requested that the taxi driver, named Thomas Simon, Jr., pick her up on the corner of University Drive and Hardy Drive at about 5:00 a.m. But, after the driver arrived, he could not find Adrienne.

He tried to contact the young woman, who said she was “almost there.” However, her phone died, she never arrived for her taxi ride, and her roommates and family never heard from her again.

Two days passed before her father, Rick Salinas, became concerned. He reported Adrienne as a missing person to the Tempe Police Department, and the investigation into her case began.

The taxi driver and his father, the owner of the taxi service company, were both interviewed. They also searched the town lake using sonar in case Adrienne had decided to walk to her boyfriend’s apartment. However, these efforts resulted in dead ends.

It took nearly two whole months before Adrienne’s remains were located in a desert wash basin on August 6, 2013. A resident of Apache Junction, Arizona, had noticed an increased amount of vultures on his property and went to inspect where they were flocking to.

The resident discovered human remains underneath debris that had traveled into the area during a flood. The Department of Public Safety conducted a DNA test and confirmed that the remains were Adrienne’s.

To this day, Adrienne’s case has remained cold. The police have classified her case as a suspicious death, and no suspects have ever been named or charged.

There is also still a twenty thousand dollar reward being offered to anyone who can provide information about her disappearance and death.

Adrienne’s family and friends have created an Adrienne Salinas Memorial page on Facebook and urge anyone with knowledge about the case to report to the Tempe Police Department at 480-350-8311 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing ... More about Katharina Buczek

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