Body Believed To Be Woman Connected to Felix Verdejo Found

Authorities have found and removed a female body that is believed to be linked to  Lightweight contender Felix Verdejo from a lagoon near Carolina, Puerto Rico, Saturday afternoon.

According to El Vocero Newspaper, shortly before noon local time, authorities were alerted to a female found in the San José lagoon located near the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge in the Carolina area.

Fuentes policiales de EL VOCERO señalan que el cuerpo hallado en la laguna San José tiene un tatuaje de un diamante en la nuca y la ropa azul tiene estampados de perritos https://t.co/FfNJ6apmBd pic.twitter.com/htdDiqEG96

— El Vocero de Puerto Rico (@VoceroPR) May 1, 2021

The body is believed to be that of 27 year old Keishla Marlen Rodríguez Ortiz, who is apparently a girlfriend of the also 27 year old fighter Verdejo and had been missing since Thursday morning.

As we have written, there has been a frantic search for the young woman after she failed to show up for work Thursday and didn’t return any of her family’s calls or text messages. Rodriguez Ortiz’s mother told the San Juan CIC investigative officers that her daughter confirmed to her she was pregnant and had gone to tell Verdejo.

Rodriguez Ortiz’s family, which had been pleading for the last two days with Verdejo and the public to help with the search for Keishla, came to the scene with authorities, once there was confirmation that it was a blond female matching her general description.

They waited for several hours, while forensic technicians and a local prosecutor investigated the scene, in and around the water for clues and evidence of the death. The body was removed around 5 p.m. local time and according to El Vocero newsapaper, taken to the Institute of Forensic Sciences crime lab in San Juan for further identification and examination.

The paper quoted Captain Jose Gonzalez from the Carolina CIC investigative unit at the San Jose lagoon Saturday that “there is evidence, and it is good to take the case to court.” 

On Saturday night, Rodriguez Ortiz’s father briefly told assembled media at the lagoon that he believes they have found his daughter’s body, while they wait for the official identification.

On Friday mid-day, Verdejo appeared with two attorneys at the San Juan police headquarters, but refused to answer any of the investigators questions. That included, refusing to confirm a relationship with her, much less, if he had been with her or where?

However, a San Juan police source confirmed to El Nuevo Dia newspaper Friday that they have cell phone records of multiple calls from Rodriguez Ortiz’s phone to Verdejo’s phone on Thursday morning around the time of her disappearance.

Further, Verdejo’s wife confirmed their relationship to them Thursday night.

The Police investigation led them to Pueblo Indio sector of Puerto Rico, near La Central in Canóvanas Friday afternoon. There they found Rodriguez Ortiz’s vehicle, a 2016 dark gray Kia Forte, abandoned near Verdejo’s home area.

El Vocero further reported that Marlen Rodriquez Ortiz’s wallet, ID, an iPad and more personal items were in the vehicle. They also reported that a fire-rescue, dive team searched the waters by the car for her without finding anything.

The San Juan CIC captain Diaz-Munoz emphasized on Friday afternoon that Verdejo was not a suspect at that time, while they continued to search and he was free to leave. He did characterize Verdejo as a “person of interest” in the woman’s disappearance.

On Saturday night El Vocero reported that authorities have now looked at toll road video from Thursday morning for the bridge over the lagoon, where the body was found Saturday. That video from Thursday morning shows a Dodge Durango SUV, just like one that Verdejo owns.

San Juan investigators went to Verdejo’s home Saturday night presumably to impound the SUV for further analysis and investigation into Rodriguez Ortiz’s death.

Later Saturday night, Top Rank Boxing, Verdejo’s U.S. promoter, put out the following statement,

Official statement from Top Rank ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/wgxpv7VoI5

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 2, 2021

Verdejo is 27-2 as a pro, and was last in the ring this past December on a Top Rank Las Vegas show. That night he lost to Masayoshi Nakatani in the ninth round on the undercard of the Shakur Stevenson-Toka Kahn Clary main event.

It was a wild fight, where Nakatani upset Verdejo handing him a tough second pro loss.

Now, it appears his troubles are much bigger.