Austin, TX

Missing in Texas: A look at unsolved murders in Guadalupe County

Published

2 years ago

February 15, 2024

Missing in Texas: A look at unsolved murders in Guadalupe County

GUADALUPE COUNTY, Texas – In this week’s “Missing in Texas,” FOX 7 Austin’s Angela Shen took a look at unsolved murders in Guadalupe County, some of them are decades old.

Sheriff Arnold Zwicke says the office has eight unsolved murders spanning four decades, and they’re continuing to follow all leads.

On July 3, 1983, 23-year-old Dalia Soto was found on the side of the road at the south end of Seguin, beaten and run over.
On July 6, 1991, two-year-old Jesse Gonzales was found unresponsive at an apartment on Blanks Street.
On August 18, 1992, 26-year-old Toni Ackerman was found in a ditch on the side of the road at FM 775 and Partnership Road.

Ackerman had been shot and was still alive when deputies got there, but died before she was able to give any information on who her killer might have been. Witnesses say earlier that night, she was last seen with a man at a grocery store on Kingsbury Street.

“That one remains an active case. We’re still following every lead that we can,” Zwicke said.

On Sept. 21, 1992, 23-year-old David Diller’s body was found floating in the Guadalupe River.

“This one sat for a long time, and then we were finally able to identify him by rerunning the fingerprints through AFIS [Automated Fingerprint Identification System]. And we were able to identify that he was indeed from Austin, Texas. Followed up on every lead we can on that,” Zwicke said.

Missing in Texas: David Ponce

38-year-old David Ponce was killed in a hit-and-run in Manor. A year and a half later, his family is still calling for justice. Angela Shen has the details.

On May 12, 1993, 59-year-old Joe Naranjo was found deceased in his home by an employee.
On April 6, 1998, 35-year-old Ramon Sanchez was found shot on the side of the road just south of New Braunfels.
On March 24, 2017, Dwight Schraub was found murdered in the parking lot of Big Tex Fireworks stand on Highway 46.
On July 4, 2017, 57-year-old Joe Rangel was found at home with gunshot wounds on Shady Lane in Seguin.

Zwicke says when the cold case unit started several years ago, they looked over everything for fresh leads. They now have two people on the unit, and they also get help from the Texas Rangers.

“I always say it’s that little piece of thread that you unravel that will pull this case together,” Zwicke said. “It’s just a lot of legwork and re-contacting the witnesses, the victims’ families and anything, looking for any clue that might really lead us in the right direction.”

MORE MISSING IN TEXAS STORIES:

Technological advancements help, as well.

“Through the years, with the help of DNA, better and easier access, we have a couple of cases that are now up at the DPS lab awaiting answers on the DNA,” he said.

For all the unsolved cases, the hope is they can solve the puzzle, even if it’s decades later.

“They’re important because there are family members that lost a loved one. Our job is to try to bring it to closure. You know you really never get closure, but there’s that hope that we can at least find out what happened and put the person responsible in jail.”

A reward may be available for information on these cases. For more information, visit Guadalupe County Crime Stoppers.

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Related Topics:Crime Publicsafety Featured Missing In Texas missing persons news series Tx us

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Austin, TX

Silver Alert issued for missing 73-year-old man in Austin

Published

11 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Silver Alert issued for missing 73-year-old man in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a Silver Alert for an elderly man who has been missing since Friday afternoon in Austin.

The Austin Police Department is looking for Charles Evans, a 73-year-old man diagnosed with a cognitive impairment. Evans was last seen at 5:37 p.m. on Jan. 9 in Austin.

Silver Alert issued for missing 73-year-old man in Austin

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Police describe him as a 6’3″ tall white male, weighing 225 pounds, has gray hair, hazel eyes, and who uses a walker.

Law enforcement officials believe his disappearance poses a credible threat to his health and safety.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to contact the Austin Police Department at 512-974-5000.

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Austin, TX

Man arrested, charged for deadly shooting at downtown Austin hotel

Published

23 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Man arrested, charged for deadly shooting at downtown Austin hotel

article

AUSTIN, Texas – A 20-year-old was arrested and charged with murder for a deadly shooting at the Cambria Hotel in downtown Austin, police said.

What we know:

Police said on Monday, Jan. 5, around 6:55 a.m., officers responded to a report of a gunshot at the Cambria Hotel at 68 East Avenue #824. The caller said a person had been shot.

When officers arrived, they found a man with injuries. He later died at the scene. He was identified as Luke Bradburn.

The investigation revealed that Bradburn drove and crashed a car that belonged to 20-year-old Maximillian Salinas. After the crash, Bradburn and the other people in the car left and went to the Cambria Hotel.

Salinas went to the hotel and shot Bradburn.

On Jan. 6, Salinas was arrested and charged with murder.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Austin Police at 512-974-TIPS. You may submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477.

The Source: Information from the Austin Police Department

DowntownCrime and Public Safety

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Austin, TX

Austin activists hold anti-ICE protests following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Austin activists hold anti-ICE protests following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis

Chants of “shame” and “ICE out of Texas” rang through the street as Austin-area activists joined thousands across the nation in protesting the killing of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis.

The protest was held in front of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Pflugerville.

Good, 37, was shot in her SUV while attempting to drive away from several ICE officers who ordered her to exit her vehicle.

Scarleth Lopez with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the organization that led the protest, said the videos of the shooting in Minneapolis were “sickening.”

“Trump has lied and and said that Renee was a terrorist. She was a mother. She was an innocent bystander,” Lopez said. “We must organize to stop these people from kidnapping and murdering.”

Lorianne Willett

KUT News

Spray painted messages appeared outside of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Pflugerville

Elizabeth Bope, a retired Pflugerville ISD teacher, said the claims from federal and state lawmakers that Good was attempting to strike the ICE agent with her vehicle inspired her to attend the protest.

Such claims were posted online by Vice President J.D. Vance and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Attorney General Ken Paxton reposted a statement from DHS on X, formerly known as Twitter, that said the ICE agent “relied on his training and saved his own life.”

“It’s beyond really any words that they killed this woman for no reason, but also that they’re lying about it,” Bope said. “I’m not even a radical left person, I’m just a regular old Democrat.”

Other key Texas leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have not commented on the shooting.

A group of protesters holding yellow signs reading "ICE Out of our Communities" gather during a night time protest. — Protesters gathered and held signs during a protest against ICE.

Doug Tickner, who said he works for a home building company in Austin, said he felt it was important to show up in person for Good.

“I don’t really think of Minneapolis as being that far from here, and it’s not like what happened in Minneapolis was some sort of one off unique event,” Tickner said. “This is part of a pattern, and I feel folks better wake up and realize that this is becoming more and more serious.”

The news that federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon, broke hours before the protest.

The gathering in Pflugerville is among the first of four anti-ICE demonstrations planned across the Austin area over the next few days.

Earlier on Thursday, protesters gathered at the intersection of 45th Street and Lamar Boulevard during rush hour. A protest on Friday will be held at the Capitol and another will be held Saturday at City Hall.

Protesters bang on the outside of a building built of metal. — Protesters bang on the outside of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Pflugerville.

State and federal leaders are now sparring over who should conduct an investigation into the Minneapolis shooting, according to NPR.

Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which was originally asked to conduct a joint investigation with the FBI, said in a statement it was later told the investigation would be led solely by federal authorities.

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