Viridiana Maldonado, Update

According to the Charleston Post and Courier article of November 8, 2008, Viridiana's husband, Jorge Maldonado is now in custody on charges unrelated to her disappearance.

When Maldonado, 22, stepped off the a plane in Atlanta on Wednesday, federal agents took him into custody. His attorney in the custody case, Tommy Bolus, explained the situation to a judge during Friday's hearing.
"He's in federal custody, he can't assert his rights today," Bolus told Judge Tommy Edwards of the 10th Judicial Circuit. "Obviously, right now, he's held up."

Jorge Maldonado had taken their child and fled to the Dominican Republic in August during a fight for custody with Viridiana's family.   The judge deciding the case ordered him to attend a hearing, with the child, on the custody issue in November, but much to his surprise, federal agents took him into custody for totally unrelated charges and he is now incarcerated.

Early in 2007 Viridiana and her husband lived near Tacoma, Washington where he was stationed with the Army.  There were incidents of domestic violence and Viridiana left the home with her children, living in a shelter for 3 months before returning to her family in North Charleston.  She was last seen on the evening of October 11, 2007 as she left to go out with friends.  She vanished.

Jorge returned to South Carolina to take his child away from Viridiana's family and took him back to Washington until he was discharged from the Army.  He then moved back to South Carolina.

Early on in the investigation he reported to officers that he was in Washington at the time that Viridiana disappeared, however, it was found the same day that Viridiana disappeared, October 11, he had been questioned by police in an Ilinois parking lot, and that his cell phone records show usage several times on a route from Illinois to South Carolina.  When confronted with the information, Jorge quit talking to investigators.

In this small child's little life he has been back and forth across the country, lost his mother, taken from her family, taken out of the country to live, taken from his father and has been placed with his aunt.  Tell me what kind of emotional repercussions are in store for him?  I have every reason to believe that he is in a loving home, and a loving environment, but what is in store for him next?  May this little one find peace someday knowing that his mother is found, and may that day be soon.  Viridiana Maldonado needs to be found and reunited with her family.

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Viridiana Maldonado, Passage of Time

UPDATE 2009
Another year went by and still I can find no new word about Viridiana’s vanishing.  No news articles, no TV coverage, only the reports from last year around this same time.
This beautiful woman is the mother of two small children growing up without her, pawns used in an international custody battle, and missing her, I’m sure.


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UPDATE 2008

It has been one year since the disappearance of Viridiana Maldonado from North Charleston, SC. She left her home to go out with friends and never returned, leaving behind two young children. Her family has not been able to find a trace of her anywhere.

Her case spreads from South Carolina to Tacoma, Washington, and there are no indications where she could be from the east coast to the west coast, therefore, no evidence present to search for her in a particular place.

I don't know whether her family had any formal gathering to honor her on this date, but can only surmise the pain of remembering a one year anniversary of a young missing mother with a whole life ahead of her.

Her mother and sister care for her 7-year-old-son, Alex —her spitting image, they say— who continually asks about his mother, "Viri." Meanwhile, they're fighting Viridiana's estranged husband in court for custody of her 3-year-old son, now living with his father in another country.

Sources close to the case indicate suspicious activity on the part of her husband, Jorge Maldanado, and that he and Viridiana's youngest child may have left the country. Her family must also be saddened by this news.

North Charleston, SC - North Charleston Police are still searching for a missing mother a year after she disappeared. Investigators now suspect foul play in the disappearance of Viridiana Maldonado, and have identified her husband as a suspect. Maldonado has been missing since last October after she went out one night and never returned. She left behind two young children and the youngest is living with her estranged husband. If you have any information on this case, please call Crime Stoppers at 554-1111.

May Viridiana and her family find the answers that they are so desparately searching for and may her children not be caught in the middle, but find some peace knowing how much she loved them.

Viridiana Maldonado

Viridiana Maldonado was a young mother. She had her first child at age 15 or 16. She married and had another child four years later. Her husband, Jorge, was in the Army stationed at Ft. Lewis near Tacoma, WA.


According to news accounts they had trouble in their marriage which led "Viri" to take out an Order of Protection against Jorge. Apparently she had had enough and moved back to her family in North Charleston, SC with her 2 children, leaving Jorge in WA.

She lived with her mother and sister in an apartment on Dunbar Ave., along with her children. She held a postition with a local restaurant, La Nortena, and her boss was a friend of the family. From all accounts she was making a go of it with the support of her family.

On the evening of Oct. 11, 2007 she came home, changed her clothes and said she was going out with her sister in law, Vicky Roberts, for the evening. Nothing unusual was said to her family, nothing unusual about her demeanor that night. Just a night out with friends.

Her family reports that approximately 2am they received text messages from her cell phone. This was odd, because Viridiana did not usually text message them. One said she was in downtown Charleston, drinking with a man named Miguel. The next message said she was on her way home to Mexico. That was the last activity on her cell phone....ever.

Six days later her bank account, with a balance of about $1000, was closed by telephone and a cashiers check was sent to Tacoma, WA. It has not been reported who made that phone call, who closed that account, and who received the money.

There are a slew of strange circumstances surrounding this disappearance.

Vicky Roberts, her sister in law, says she was not with her and had not seen her for 2 weeks prior to Oct. 11.

Viridiana's estranged husband, Jorge, left the Army, moved back to North Charleston and claimed his child. He is reported to have been cooperative with police in the investigation.

Who is Miguel? Her family states they never heard Viri speak about any man named Miguel. Did she just meet him somewhere that night, or did she know him beforehand?

What is happening in this case now? Are these questions being answered for her mother and family? Apparently, they don't think enough is being put into the investigation and it looks like a lot of clues are getting cold as time goes by.

We have 2 small children who don't know what happened to their Mommy, a young, beautiful woman who was loved and cared for by her family in her times of trouble. Viridiana, just as so many others, is being forgotten. The longer we let these questions go unanswered, the colder the trail gets, and it happens all too often.

Another missing Mother vanishes in the night. Where do they go?