The Body of Dacara Thompson Has Been Found — This Man Has Been Charged With Her Murder
"Maybe he is connected to the other women who went missing in the same area."
Published Sept. 5 2025, 4:22 p.m. ET
Since Aug. 23, 2025, police have been investigating the disappearance of 19-year-old Dacara Thompson from Lanham. On Sept. 5, 2025, her family finally got some closure after a body found off Route 50 in Anne Arundel County was confirmed to be Thompson’s, per a Facebook announcement from Prince George’s County Police. The body wasn’t immediately identified, but days later, authorities were able to confirm it was, in fact, Thompson.
Not only has Thompson’s body been located, but police believe she was killed by Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, who has since been charged with her murder. Here’s everything to know about what happened to her and the man allegedly behind the crime.
Officials have confirmed they found Dacara Thompson’s body.
Dacara Thompson was reported missing on Aug. 23, 2024, after she never came home the night before. According to NBC Washington, she left on Aug. 22 to get gas for her vehicle, but two days later, her car was found with her belongings still inside, though her phone was missing and had been disabled.
When PGPD homicide detectives went through surveillance footage, they saw Thompson approach a black SUV in the early morning hours of Aug. 23. She spoke briefly with the driver before getting inside. Now, police aren’t sure if this was her first encounter with the driver, who police believe to be Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, or if they already knew each other.
Investigators say she was then driven to his home on the 12000 block of Kembirdge Drive in Bowie, where they believe she was murdered inside his bedroom. In their Facebook statement, police noted Hernandez-Mendez had access to the SUV and lived in the bedroom where the murder is alleged to have taken place.
However, it wasn’t until days later that her body was discovered. During a Sept. 4 PGPD press conference, officials shared that state troopers came across a disabled vehicle along Route 50 in Anne Arundel County. While the disabled vehicle wasn’t connected to Thompson, the stop led troopers to discover a young woman lying unresponsive nearby.
Days later, the body was confirmed to be Thompson’s. Detectives believe Hernandez-Mendez moved her body from his home to the location where it was found.
While Thompson has been located, the exact circumstances of her death remain unknown as of this writing and are still under investigation.
Hugo Hernandez-Mendez is believed to be an illegal immigrant.
Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, the man accused of killing Dacara Thompson
After police were able to connect the black SUV to Hernandez-Mendez’s home, they went to his residence and arrested him. Hernandez-Mendez, 35, is believed to be an undocumented immigrant. According to ABC7 News, police confirmed his status to the outlet, and on Sept. 4, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detainer.
Records show Hernandez-Mendez had previously been arrested in April 2025 on a DUI charge but was released while awaiting trial in U.S. District Court. An ICE spokesperson later told the outlet that he “is a criminal alien from Guatemala” who entered the U.S. illegally on an unknown date.