South Bend community joins effort to find missing woman

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The search for 22-year-old Alma Del Real resumed on Friday.

“We are asking anyone with information to come forward, talk to the police,” Del Real's aunt Susanna Lagunas said.

Her family made another desperate plea for any information that could help police find Alma Del Real.

She was last seen around 3 a.m. Sunday April, 12, when a friend dropped her off at her home on Ewing Avenue after a night out at Studio Rumba 305.

There has been no sign of Del Real since. Members of South Bend's South West Side community gathered outside the South Bend Police Department Friday.

Many were dressed in white and held signs demanding she be brought home.

“If anybody took Alma and is listening please, this could be us or a member of your family. Let her come home. Let her be fine. We need Alma back,” said Lagunas.

The large crowd prompted South Bend Police Chief Ron Teachman to assure the community of the department's commitment to find her.

“It gave us the opportunity to dialogue about the commitment we're making to this case and the resources being applied and our willingness to work together with them in harmony,” Teachman explained.

Chief Teachman was not able to share any information about the investigation but said his best detectives are on the case.

He said officers at the federal, state, and county levels are also assisting in this search.

The police chief also made clear, the department will not make any inquiries on the immigration status of anyone who comes forward with information.

Their goal is simple: to find Alma Del Real.

“We are fearing the worst has happened when we haven't heard from her in so long,” Lagunas said.

Saturday, the family is holding a vigil at Our Lady of Hungary Church at 7pm. It is located at 829 West Calvert Street in South Bend.

Anyone with information about this case is urged to call the South Bend Police Department at 574.235.9201.
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