New York Post
· collected 2026-09-18 · by Zoe Hussain, Patrick Reilly
Police are investigating claims that two missing mothers from South Bend, Indiana—Vanessa Bautista, 24, and Alexa Navarro, 23—were being chased before they were found dead in a submerged Jeep in Niles, Michigan. The vehicle plunged into the St. Joseph River around 70 feet after going off an embankment early Sunday morning. Authorities are looking into whether external forces such as someone chasing them played a role in the incident, though no definitive evidence suggests foul play so far.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The bodies of Vanessa Bautista, 24, and Alexa Navarro, 23, were found inside a submerged Jeep pulled from the St. Joseph River near Niles, Michigan, on Tuesday night. The vehicle had fallen over an embankment around 4 a.m. Sunday morning, plummeting approximately 70 feet into the river after hitting trees during its descent. Both women, who are from South Bend, Indiana, were identified by the Western Michigan University Office of the Medical Examiner on Thursday, but the cause of death remains undetermined. Police Chief James Millin dismissed theories suggesting external interference and emphasized that extensive damage to the vehicle was due to the steep incline. However, he also acknowledged investigating claims that someone might have been chasing them before their disappearance.
Written for “Missing Moms Found Dead” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Investigators are probing whether somebody was “chasing” two mothers before they were found dead in a Jeep that plummeted into a Michigan river.
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that → probe → river
Vanessa Bautista, 24, and Alexa Navarro, 23, both of South Bend, Indiana, were discovered on Tuesday night after the submerged vehicle was pulled out of the St. Joseph River in Niles, Michigan.
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vehicle → discover → Niles
The Jeep had plunged over an embankment and plummeted roughly 70 feet into the river below around 4 a.m. Sunday morning, Niles Police Chief James Millin previously told The Post.
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Millin → plunge → Post
The women were reported missing that same day, with family members later tracking their phones to Niles — about 11 miles north of the women’s hometown, KFOX14 reported.
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KFOX14 → report → hometown
Millin said that police are investigating whether Bautista and Navarro were being chased on the night they mysteriously vanished.
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they → say → night
“There’s been statements made that possibly somebody was chasing the girl, so we’re investigating that, looking into it,” Millin said.
uncertain
Millin → make → it
“You know, right now, there do not appear to have been any outside forces, you know, such as pushing the vehicle off the road or something like that – but again that is still under investigation.”
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that → know → investigation
Millin added in remarks to People that he has heard that the girls were “followed” from an establishment they left in Elkhart.
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they → add → Elkhart
“I’ve heard both that the girls were followed from the establishment that they left in Elkhart and also been followed in Niles,” Millin told the outlet.
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Millin → hear → outlet
“Some people are saying ‘followed,’ other people are saying ‘chased,’ so of course we’re looking into all that to try to determine is this factual?
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this → say → that
And if so, what, if any part, did it play in them ending up in the river?” he added.
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he → play → river
The moms were positively identified by Western Michigan University Office of the Medical Examiner on Thursday — although an official cause of death has yet to be determined.
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cause → identify → death
The results of the women’s autopsies and toxicology tests could take weeks to complete, Millin said.
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Millin → take → weeks
Some raised concerns about the damage to the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but there is no indication yet that external forces caused the car’s mangled condition
“
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forces → raise → condition
A lot of people were concerned that the vehicle had a lot of damage and I don’t think they understand that the vehicle went off an embankment and down approximately 60 or 70 feet of a pretty steep incline, hitting trees and so on on the way down before it hit the water,” he said.
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he → have → water
The father of Navarro’s child told WNDU that nothing about his last encounter with her made him think she would end up on the unusual route in the southwestern Michigan city.
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she → tell → city
“She would always take one route.
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She → take → route
Me and her would always take one route back and forth, which is Portage, which is so weird why she would come this way and take a left,” Jovani Ramirez told the outlet.
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Ramirez → take → outlet
“It’s so weird to me, but we just have to let the police do what they do and start the investigation and see what’s going on.
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what → ’ → investigation
We’re just going to have to wait.”
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We → go → ?
Dozens of concerned friends and family members searched for the pair before the tragic discovery in Joseph River, WSBT reported.
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WSBT → search → River
“She always check in with us; regardless of who it is she hasn’t checked in on her child, and we know that’s really not like her at all, and that’s a problem,” Brandi Oritiz, Navarro’s cousin, told the outlet before she was found.
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she → check → outlet
Navarro leaves behind her 3-year-old child, and Batistia leaves behind two children, a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old.
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Batistia → leave → children
The Post has reached out to the Niles Police Department for updates on the investigation.
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Post → reach → investigation
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