NEWS
Remains found in walls of building in Ruidoso Downs ID'd as man who disappeared in 2018
Lincoln County Sheriff's Office investigating the death of Freddy Ray Baca
Published
The family of Freddy Ray Baca told authorities they "long feared what had happened to him,鈥� although they never reported him missing.
On Wednesday, those fears were confirmed.
Remains found in 2023 鈥渂etween two walls鈥� in a building in Ruidoso Downs have been identified as Baca, who was 41 or 42 when he was last seen in 2018, the Lincoln County Sheriff鈥檚 Office announced in a news release.
The sheriff鈥檚 office said the case is being investigated by the 12th Judicial District Major Crimes Unit. The release did not give a cause of death for Baca, and a call to the sheriff鈥檚 office was not immediately returned.
On June 21, 2023, construction workers found 鈥渕ummified human remains鈥� in the walls of a building in the 27000 block of U.S. 70 in Ruidoso Downs, according to a Facebook post made by then-Sheriff Michael Wood. The building is in a rural area west of Ruidoso where the Rio Ruidoso runs alongside farmland and RV parks.
Wednesday鈥檚 news release states the sheriff鈥檚 office teamed up with Marshall University in 2024 to obtain a DNA profile from the remains and use it in a genetic genealogy search. Authorities found 30 people across the nation with 鈥渇amilial ties.鈥�
鈥淢ost were distant relatives and did not know each other, however it aided in narrowing down the family tree,鈥� according to the release.
This month the search yielded a close relative who said 鈥渢hey had a family member who had been missing for years.鈥� Dental records were used by the Office of the Medical Investigator to identify the remains as Baca.
鈥淚t was learned Freddy was last seen by family in 2018,鈥� according to the release. 鈥淔reddy was not reported missing, but those who loved him had long feared what had happened to him.鈥�
The sheriff鈥檚 office said the case 鈥渞emains very active鈥� and asked anyone with information on Baca鈥檚 death to call detectives at 575-648-2341.
