At a press conference on Tuesday (10/16), Wayne County Sheriff Barry Virts said skeletal remains uncovered in an orchard on Joy Road in the Town of Sodus are consistent with the age of a toddler who has been missing since May.
One-year-old Owen Hidalgo-Calderon was reported missing, along with his mother, 18-year-old Selena Hidalgo-Calderon, last seen May 16. She was found dead, stuffed in a bag in a wooded area near her home on Joy Road in Sodus just a few days after being declared missing. The An official cause of death for Selena Hidalgo-Calderon has still not been released.
Hidalgo-Calderon, who was from Guatemala and spoke little English, had lived in the U.S. since November 2016.
Police and hundreds of volunteers searched the 700 acre farm area for almost two weeks, looking for the little boy. Sheriff Virts said crews returned to the area, using recruits and teams in an ongoing effort to continue the search.
Virts said that deputies found scattered human remains during a ground search last Wednesday (10/10) and Thursday. It was believed the bones may have been scattered due to animal disturbance, according to Virts.
Those scattered remains led to the discovery the following day of a shallow grave, not far from where Selena’s body was discovered. Sheriff Virts indicated the grave contained more remains.
“We never stopped looking,” Sheriff Virts said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Police are uncertain of the cause of death and positive identification of the baby. The body was taken to the Monroe County Medical Examiners for examination.
Domestic violence had been an issue while Selena was living with boyfriend Everardo Donoteo-Reyes. He was not the father of the baby. Virts said that Hidalgo-Calderon had reached out for help to a local domestic violence crisis center. She was offered safe housing, was there for a few days, and left.
Donoteo-Reyes moved from the Joy Road farm after the disappearances of the mother and baby and was found working on a farm in Livingston County three weeks later.
Police believe Selena was killed in the home she shared with Reyes at the Joy Road farm, for about three weeks. A trail camera footage set up by a hunter showed Reyes moving “in and out of the woods,” carrying a shovel, over a five-hour period on May 17. He admitted to moving Selena’s body, but not killing her.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office sent Donoteo-Reyes’s fingerprints to ICE, his immigration status came up as invalid in the ICE database. In addition, falsified documents belonging Donoteo-Reye were found by investigators during the search for Owen Hidalgo-Calderon.
Among the falsified documents was a counterfeit alien registration card in the name “Alberto Gutierrez” which contained a photograph of Donoteo-Reyes.
ICE has been working with Homeland Security Investigations on this case.
In June Donoteo-Reyes, who is from Mexico, was charged in federal court with illegally re-entering the United States and possessing counterfeit identification documents.
If convicted on those charges, Reyes faces a maximum of ten years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
Police and prosecutors said they don’t know exactly how Reyes was able to enter the United States after twice being deported. He was deported once in 2016 after being arrested in Gretna, Louisiana, and again in 2017, when he was picked up in Laredo, Texas. It seems likely that he was able to use forged documents both to cross the border and to be hired to work on farms in Western New York.
Donoteo-Reyes was charged with evidence tampering in connection to Selena’s case. He has not been charged in Selena or Owen’s deaths. Wayne County District Attorney Michael Calarco said that his office would wait for the medical examiner’s report before making a decision about further criminal charges.
In a statement released Tuesday by the Workers’ Center of Central NY and Owen’s grandmother, Estela Calderon, the family said they are “very saddened” by the news about the remains found on the farm.
“Since little Owen’s disappearance we have been holding hope that he would be found safe and return to his loving family.
“Just yesterday, October 15, family and friends gathered to celebrate the life of Selena, on what would have been her 19th birthday. It is heartbreaking to realize that her little one is also gone.
“Selena’s mother and little Owen’s grandmother, Estela Calderon wants to share the following statement:
‘Selena came to my life an October 15, 1999 to bring happiness to my life and she was taken from us leaving a whole in my heart. My heart is broken because I know my little Owen is also gone but I know they are together. Both of them are my guardian angels to give me hope and healing so I keep going for my children. I know Selena is in God’s glory because she was a great daughter, sister and friend and Owen is an innocent soul.
‘I ask for justice for my daughter and grandson. I don’t ever want anyone to experience this immeasurable pain.’”
We ask for privacy for the family as they continue to grieve their loss.
Donoteo-Reyes is currently being held on the Wayne County charges on $25,000 cash/$50,000 bond. Any chance of bail is unlikely since it would be fruitless with Federal Immigration also having a detainer on him.
On Thursday (10/18) afternoon Reyes appeared back in County Court for a preliminary hearing.
The hearing filled up most of the afternoon with little progress due to the Spanish translation the Court heard of Reyes interview conducted with a City of Rochester Officer fluent in Spanish.
A question came up by the defense on whether Reyes had properly been advised of his Miranda Rights before the interview.
“We are probably only half way through it. Round two will be coming up. I don’t know when it will be scheduled yet,” said Wayne County District Attorney Mike Colarco.