In February 1996, 25-year-old Ricardo “Richie” Torres left Southern California on what his family understood to be one final marijuana deal. Richie had recently become a father and had been talking about getting out of the business. Before he left, he also warned his family about some of the people around him.
Richie traveled north toward South San Francisco in his red truck with a man he knew through the marijuana trade. During the drive, he called his girlfriend and told her they were about an hour away from their destination. He promised to call again when they arrived. That call never came.
Richie was never seen by his family again, but his truck was. Just days later, it surfaced hundreds of miles away in Rosarito, Mexico. Then, four months after Richie disappeared, an anonymous letter arrived at the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. The writer claimed Richie had been murdered in South San Francisco. The letter named several people, identified a specific address, and included details about Richie’s truck. Some of those details would later appear to line up with information uncovered by the family and investigators.
The letter seemed like it could finally lead to answers. Instead, Richie remained missing, no one was charged, and decades passed without any progress.
Now, Richie’s brothers are trying to understand not only what happened to him, but what happened to the investigation that followed. Who wrote the anonymous letter? How did that person know what they knew? And after 30 years, could the information needed to find Richie still be out there?
If you have any information about the disappearance of Richie Torres, please contact the Chula Vista Police Department at 619-691-5151 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
