Remains in N.M. may be those of missing man, 3 sons
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ALBUQUERQUE - The remains of an adult and three children found in a car submerged in a central New Mexico lake may be linked to the 2001 case of a man accused of abducting his three sons, authorities said yesterday.
State Police spokesman Lieutenant Eric Garcia said there is a “strong possibility’’ that the remains found Thursday by state police divers in a Ford Taurus submerged in about 15 feet of water in Cochiti Lake near a boat ramp are linked to Richard Robert Sanchez’s disappearance with his sons.
Authorities said that in August 2001, Richard Robert Sanchez, of Albuquerque, took his sons, Richard, 12, Daniel, 9, and 2-year-old Christopher for a weekend custody visit and never returned. Garcia said the car was the same as the one Sanchez was driving. A child’s car seat was found in the back of the car and shoes of the sizes that the boys would have been wearing also were recovered, Garcia said.
The four sets of remains are from an adult, a younger teen, and two children, he said.
The remains will be sent to the state Office of the Medical Investigator to be identified, Garcia said.
