Lauren Hernandez

Statesman Journal

Keizer Police have identified a person of interest related to a missing Woodburn woman last seen leaving a Keizer bar roughly three weeks ago.

Cynthia Martinez, 26, was last seen at Tequila Nights, a bar and grill located at 3393 River Road North around 2:35 a.m. Sunday, July 16th.

In the hours leading up to her disappearance, Martinez attended a birthday party in the Woodburn area Saturday evening and arrived at the Keizer bar around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Keizer Police.

Martinez was seen leaving the bar with two Hispanic males roughly two hours later. She joined the two men in a blue 2004 Honda Odyssey minivan and left the bar.

She hasn't been seen or heard from since.

Investigators found the van on Monday, July 17.

Keizer Police identified one of the men as Jaime Alvarez-Olivera, 30, who is believed to have lived in the Woodburn area.

Officials believe Alvarez-Olivera left the Marion County area on July 16 shortly after Martinez was last seen with him. Police have not been able to locate him. Kuhns said Keizer Police is unsure whether he has left the country.

"Identifying his residence or individuals he lived or worked with, or who may have known or associated with him, could be very important to the ongoing investigation," said Deputy Chief Jeffrey Kuhns.

Alvarez-Olivera was last employed as a farm laborer who harvested berries. Kuhns said he worked for a labor firm where he would call in every morning and would be directed to different labor jobs on a daily basis.

Police are asking anyone with information about where he lived, who he associated with or who he may have worked for to contact Keizer Police.

The second man, who is not being identified by police, is cooperating with investigators.

Officials held a press conference Wednesday morning to answer questions about the investigation. Martinez's family attended to ask the community for help in locating Cynthia and Alvarez-Olivera.

Martinez's mother, Angelica Castillo, held hands with her husband Cesar Castillo while pleading for clues pointing to the location of her daughter.

"My heart tells me she's alive, she will come back to us because I have complete faith in God, we just need the help of the community," Castillo said.

Castillo said Martinez's family and family-friends have driven up and down streets in Keizer and Woodburn searching for her daughter every day since filing a missing person report more than three weeks ago.

Castillo said she often struggles to sleep at night and wakes up every morning and says a prayer to get reunited with her daughter. She has taken care of Martinez's children, ages 6 years, 7 years, 9 years and three months old, since her disappearance.

Martinez's children are unaware of the reason for her absence, but often say they miss their mother and wonder where she is.

"They don't know the concept of what's going on, but I know they're hurting," Angelica Castillo said. "You break down for ten minutes and then compose yourself before you open the door because there are kids that are looking up to us."

The family created t-shirts with Martinez's photo and information, passed out fliers and created a Facebook Page to get the public's help in locating Martinez.

"It's like living in a nightmare," said Cesar Castillo, Martinez's stepfather.

Cesar Castillo stared into television camera lenses and spoke directly to Alvarez-Olivera, telling him to contact police.

"We just want to know what happened," Cesar Castillo said. "Contact the police or contact us if you don't want to talk to police."

Martinez's family said they do not recognize Alvarez-Olivera and are confident Martinez was not acquainted with him before meeting at the Keizer bar the night she disappeared.

Keizer Police officials said they've spent more than a thousand hours investigating Martinez's disappearance with the help of the FBI, the Oregon Department of Justice, the Marion County District Attorney’s Office, and other local law enforcement agencies in both Marion and adjoining counties.

She is described as being 5 feet 1 inch and 135 pounds with dark brown eyes and black hair. She was last seen wearing a short black romper with a pink floral design. Two prominent tattoos on her chest read "Dominguez" and "trust no one."

Anyone with information about Martinez's disappearance is asked to contact the Keizer Police Department at 503-856-3529. Police are accepting anonymous tips.

For questions, comments and news tips, email Lauren Hernandez at lehernande@statesmanjournal.com.

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