Father fears for missing Annapolis teen

Felipe Rivera is haunted by the death of a young woman he never met.

He had just returned home from a long night of work to discover his son was gone.

The next morning dozens of phone calls to his son's cellphone went unanswered.

"We called all his friends and no one said they knew where he was. That's when we knew something was wrong so we called the police," Rivera said.

An active missing person's case is ongoing for his 16-year-old son David Rivera, who was last seen by his family the night of Aug. 29.

A recent series of warnings from the Anne Arundel County Police Department of gang-activity, has led to a growing concern among the Hispanic community who are alleged targets of those crimes.

"We hope that he's safe and that nothing has happened to him. With everything that's going on with the gangs in Annapolis; we just don't know," said Rivera.

His son is among the three people who went missing over the summer.

Jenni B. Rivera-Lopez, 21, was last seen on June 24 and Neris Bonilla-Palacios, 17, was last seen August 5.

About a month after David went missing police discovered the body of Rivera-Lopez in a shallow grave hidden in Crownsville.

Police charged five people in her brutal murder and all five are facing possible deportation.

At a news conference in October, county Police Chief Timothy Altomare announced three bodies had been found dead of "gang-related violence."

Altomare declined to give more information and whether the deaths were tied to MS-13.

Since Rivera-Lopez's death Rivera, his wife Magdalena have been looking for their son in wooded areas and under bridges.

"In all the years I've lived in Annapolis you never heard of something like MS-13, but now you hear that there's a lot of gang members in the area, " Rivera said.

The family moved from Mexico over 20 years ago and started a family in Annapolis.

His father said it wasn't like David to just leave without saying anything or letting anyone know where he was going.

The night that David went missing he was home with his younger brother while his mom left to pick up their dad from work around 10 p.m.

Magdalena saw her son for the last time in the living room on the phone right before she left.

When they came home he was gone and his brother said he didn't see him leave. He called him around 10:45 p.m., David answered and said he was on his way home, but never returned.

Rivera said he communicated often with both of his teenage sons about the dangers of getting involved with the wrong group of friends.

"He told us he was never involved in that kind of stuff, but you know how teenagers are they can tell you one thing at home and outside it's another," said Rivera.

Cpl. Amy Miguez, of Annapolis City Police said parents can look out for common signs of possible gang activity, such as coming home with expensive clothes, cell phones or new friends.

"I think there's still a lot of fear in the community with all the recent announcements with the county police and with the gang task force," said Miguez. "We definitely see the need to increase the education among parents."

David, a sophomore at Annapolis high school, would be celebrating his 17th birthday in November. Rivera says he was well-liked among his friends at school and says if he were here today he would be playing soccer with them or spending time with the family.

"I've been trying to stay strong, I'm not like how I was when he first went missing. I have a family I need to protect and I don't want to make any mistakes."

Police have not given any update on David's case. Anyone with information is asked to call Annapolis Police, Detective McKay at 410-268-4141 or to remain anonymous call 410-280-2583.

As almost two months pass since David's disappearance Felipe tries to accept the fate God has for his son.

"We pray to God to give us a sign, to let us know if he's safe. If something has happened to him, there's nothing we can do, only God knows."

Credit: By Thalia Juarez - tjuarez@capgaznews.com

Caption: Rivera