The Mobile County Sheriff's Office has cleared a man wanted in connection with a missing family, but said they are still searching diligently after discovering disturbing evidence.
Aurelia Choc Cac, 40, and her children, Niurka Zuleta Choc, 17, and Anthony Garcia Choc, 2, were last seen around 3 p.m. Friday at their home in the 9000 block of Ben Hamilton Road.
Aurelia Choc Cac was wearing a maroon jacket with tan joggers. Nuirka Zuleta Choc was wearing a black top and plaid pants. Anthony Garcia Choc was wearing a cartoon-character hoodie and blue jeans.
Deputies were first dispatched to the home after a call about the suspicious disappearance. They discovered signs of a struggle, including blood, inside the house, but did not find the family. Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said a mattress was missing from the home. Deputies also found items that someone traveling would take.
The sheriff's office said the family is believed to be in extreme danger.
"We were always hopeful that they were still alive and, you know, it's obviously very disturbing that there was a significant amount of blood in the home and a missing mattress," Burch said. "That's always of concern, but we will remain hopeful in that they're alive and will work diligently with our federal partners to locate and return."
Juan Antonio Garcia, the mother's ex, is no longer a person of interest. Burch said investigators corroborated his alibi and learned he was out of the state at the time of the disappearance.
"Always, if somebody is close to the victim, they are the first person we look at," Burch told 1819 News. "He has been, for now at least, eliminated."
Making the case more difficult, there is a language barrier between authorities and family members of the missing persons.
Detectives are asking anyone with information to call authorities.
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