Rita Gutierrez-Garcia case on Dateline: Secrets Uncovered - A complete timeline of events

In Longmont, Colorado, 34-year-old Rita Gutierrez-Garcia, a devoted mother of three boys, vanished without a trace on March 18, 2018, after a night out celebrating St. Patrick's Day with family. Known for her strong work ethic and dreams of becoming a paralegal, Rita had gone to local bars to unwind following a recent breakup, promising her family she would return home early. 

Surveillance footage captured her last moments in a parking lot, speaking briefly to a man before entering a white pickup truck, after which her phone made a silent 911 call. What began as a missing person case soon turned suspicious, revealing connections to a violent assault months earlier on another woman at the same bars. 

Investigators pieced together evidence over the years, leading to the arrest, conviction, and eventual recovery of Rita's remains in a remote Weld County field. This heartbreaking story of loss and perseverance is explored in depth in the Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode titled The Devil You Know, which aired on December 3, 2025, on Oxygen. 

Dateline: Secrets Uncovered: November 2017: A Prior assault sets the stage

A woman named Kaylene went through a horrific experience in Longmont's bar district four months prior to Rita's disappearance.  She felt confused and queasy after going to an after-party and drinking at local establishments, probably from a drugged drink.  Juan Jose Figueroa Jr., a man she had previously met, offered to assist by driving her out of the celebration.

Rather, he brought her to his house and repeatedly attacked and strangled her while threatening to kill her.  A police report resulted from Kaylene's escape by leaping from a moving car and arriving at her mother's house.  

Detective Sandie Jones gathered evidence from a r*pe kit and recorded her injuries, which included bruises and bleeding eyes.  Figueroa, a former police cadet who was fired for stealing, fled while being sought by the police for attempted murder and r*pe, as per Oxygen.

March 17-18, 2018: The night Rita vanishes in Dateline: Secrets Uncovered

Rita Gutierrez-Garcia had joined relatives for a low-key St. Patrick's Day outing in downtown Longmont bars, seeking to get her mind off a recent breakup. She showed up around evening and socialized. But surveillance video captured her being hit on by a man, Juan Figueroa, whom she rebuffed by telling him he was a weirdo. Around 2 a.m. on March 18, Rita left the bar and stepped into the parking lot on Coffman Street to wait for her ride home. 

A surveillance camera captured her entering a white pickup truck with orange construction lights-the same kind of truck Figueroa owned. Her phone stayed in one place for 20 minutes before it started moving quickly at 3:03 a.m.

Four minutes later, at 3:07 a.m., her phone dialed 911 silently, and no one responded to the dispatcher. It died shortly after. Rita never came home to her young sons.

March 18-26, 2018: The search begins

Her sons woke up the next morning to find Rita gone. Her sister noticed something unusual: Rita's phone had gone silent. Rita didn't show up for a family baby shower that afternoon, which raised eyebrows among relatives. Her mother, Diane Romero, called Rita's ex-boyfriend, who said he hadn't seen or heard from her. The family reported her missing with Longmont Police on March 19, and a case file landed on the desk of Detective Cody Clark. 

Clark, himself, portrayed Rita as a responsible single mother carrying two jobs; thus, her disappearance was suspicious, but it did not necessarily sound like foul play at first. He talked to her dozen-odd contacts, all of whom had seemingly airtight alibis, and also looked at footage from nearby bars.

On March 26, family and friends organized a candlelight vigil in downtown Longmont, according to the Denver Post.

March 27, 2018: Arrest of Figueroa in Dateline: Secrets Uncovered

Just nine days after Rita's disappearance, police arrested Juan Figueroa in Texas on an outstanding warrant for the November 2017 assault on Kaylene. Figueroa had fled to Mexico after the assault but was lured back by a phony job offer from a former employer orchestrated by investigators.

Homeland Security tracked his vehicle crossing the border, allowing the arrest upon re-entry. Although still uncharged in Rita's case, cell data put his truck near her phone's last movements.

Detectives connected the dots between the two incidents at the same bars, naming Figueroa a person of interest. Kaylene identified him from photos, strengthening the case against him for her attack, as Oxygen reported.

Dateline: Secrets Uncovered: 2018-2021: building the case without a body

By April 4, 2018, police had declared Rita's disappearance suspicious due to evidence such as the 911 call and footage from passing trucks. DNA of Rita's was found in Figueroa's truck, but with no remains, the job of the prosecutors became difficult.

In March 2019, Figueroa was convicted of r*pe and attempted murder in Kaylene's case, and he was sentenced to 93 years to life. During the trial, he had shown little remorse, even laughing at the testimony given.

A jail cellmate would later report that Figueroa admitted to strangling Rita when she refused him, claiming her body was in a very remote location, as per the Denver Post.

April-June 2022: Remains found and plea deal

As part of a plea deal, Figueroa led investigators to a remote field in Weld County on April 28, 2022, and gave them the GPS coordinates for Rita's grave.  That day, her remains were found, putting an end to the family's four years of uncertainty.  

Figueroa punched Rita until she was unconscious, loaded her into his truck, and strangled her while driving, according to the recorded confession. He claimed that her rejection of him was what set off the violence.

On June 3, 2022, Figueroa entered a guilty plea in Boulder District Court to charges of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree murder.  With the agreement that lowered possible life sentences in exchange for his cooperation, he was spared a trial, according to the Denver Post.

June 2022: Sentencing and closure for the family in Dateline: Secrets Uncovered

Judge Andrew Baum sentenced Figueroa to 48 years on June 3, 2022, in addition to his 93-year sentence from Kaylene's case, for the murder and kidnapping of Rita.  Family members confronted Figueroa during the emotional courtroom hearing, giving speeches about Rita's loving nature and the void her death left in their lives.  

Diane Romero thanked detectives for their perseverance while expressing the anguish of raising her grandsons without their mother, as per the Denver Post.

Watch Dateline: Secrets Uncovered available on Oxygen.