Cold Cases

Missing: Cecilia Huerta Gallegos

Cecilia Huerta Gallegos disappeared in 2019 from her home she shared with her husband and four kids. There has only been one suspect, but her body has never been found. What happened to Cecilia Huerta Gallegos?

Photo by Eric Francis / Unsplash

Cecilia Huerta Gallegos was a wife and mother to four children, aged 6 to 14 years old. In 2019, she was 30 years old and living in the north-west side of San Antonio, Texas with her family.

At 7:39pm on Sunday, July 7th, 2019, Cecilia arrived home from work. On the home surveillance cameras, she could be seen entering the master bedroom she shared with her husband around 15 minutes later. Cecilia would not appear on the home surveillance cameras again.

Cecilia was first reported missing by her husband on July 8th, the morning after she was last seen by her coworkers. Her husband said that she had cut him with a knife during an argument over infidelity issues, and then she had left the house on foot. Her husband claimed that he called the police just 30 minutes after the argument occurred.

There was an immediate suspect in Cecilia's disappearance; Her husband, Reyes Gallegos. He could be seen on surveillance footage entering the room after her, where they began to argue. Their children, who were all in their rooms at the time, report that they heard screaming, and had to cover their ears to block out the noise. After the argument, Reyes was seen on surveillance videos keeping the children away from the master bedroom.

The home surveillance system was shut off between the hours of 2 and 4 am. Reyes Gallegos could be seen leaving the house at around 6am, and returning at around 8:30am. The surveillance footage showed him unloading a chainsaw, shovels, trash bags, and cleaning supplies from his car.

Reyes was arrested for filing a false police report in August of 2019. He was out on bail in September of the same year, only to be sent back once his bail was increased. In August of 2021, Reyes was arrested for the murder of his wife, Cecilia Huerta Gallegos, and his trail date was set for October 2021.

Nearly 5 years later, Cecilia's body has still not been found. Reyes' bail was decreased in February of 2023, and he was allowed to bond out. He was kept under house arrest, but the family of Cecilia Gallegos feels that his treatment is unfair. "He is just sitting at home," her sister, Mireya Lopez, said. "And not to make it sound bad, but he is eating a bowl of food and my sister is gone. And we are the ones suffering." Lopez, along with other members of Cecilia's family, have called for Reyes to submit to polygraph testing. They say they won't be asking questions such as "Did you murder your wife?", they are more interested at the moment in finding Cecilia's body.

The five year anniversary of her disappearance is July 7th, 2024. The family of Cecilia will be holding a vigil in San Antonio that day. If you know anything about the disappearance and possible murder of Cecilia Huerta Gallegos, please contact the Crime Stoppers of San Antonio at (210) 224- 7867 or by submitting a tip to their website (https://www.sacrimestoppers.com/)

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