DEL NORTE COUNTY, Calif. – Police in northern California have arrested a man in connection with a murder investigation.
The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office said on February 1, the grandmother of 31-year-old Emiley Hughes called deputies to report her granddaughter as missing. The last time she heard from Hughes was on December 23, 2018.
Deputies started to investigate the case, creating a missing person flyer and notifying other agencies about the disappearance. As this was happening, Hughes’ mother was contacted and said she also had not heard from daughter since late December.
On February 2, deputies said Hughes’ mother told DNSO her daughter was alive and well. She stated Hughes was with her boyfriend in Eureka and had gone missing voluntarily. However, since deputies still hadn’t heard from Hughes directly, she remained officially missing.
Investigators said they eventually received a report that Hughes may be dead in her last known residence. The report itself wasn’t enough to allow police to legally search the home. However, they tried to do so lawfully several times.
Police tried to track down Hughes’ estranged husband and were able to contact him once, but he never showed up to an arranged meeting at the home. He also disconnected his phone.
On February 14, a family member found Hughes’ vehicle. That same day, the family member went to Hughes’ home to get keys for the vehicle and entered the residence police wanted to investigate. When she entered the home, she noticed a suspicious odor.
The odor was enough for deputies to finally obtain a warrant to search the home. When they did, they found a person who appeared to have been dead for several weeks.
Two days later, police positively identified the body as that of Emiley Hughes.
Hughes’ estranged husband, Edward Culver Hughes IV, was being sought as a person of interest in the case. Police believe he knew about the body in his house.
On the evening of February 18, Edward Hughes was taken into custody with the help of the Pelican Bay Crisis Response Team.
He was booked into the Del Norte County Jail on one charge of murder.
“I’m incredibly impressed by the diligence demonstrated from our investigations unit while relentlessly maintaining focus on this case.” Sheriff Apperson said. “We will continue to work collaboratively with the Del Norte County District Attorneys Office and the California Department of Justice as we move forward. I’d also like to thank our local fire departments, Search & Rescue and Ambulance crews for being accessible while this high-risk arrest was carried out.”
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