In the late summer of 2017, the life of a family in Annapolis, Maryland, was irrevocably altered. On the evening of August 29th, 16-year-old David Rivera was at his home in the 200 block of Janwall Street. His mother last saw him in the living room, talking on the phone, before she and his father left to run an errand around 10:00 p.m. When they returned home, David was gone. His younger brother, who had been home with him, had not seen him leave.
A phone call to David's cell phone at 10:45 p.m. provided a brief moment of reassurance when he said he was fine and on his way home, but he never arrived. David, a sophomore in high school who was well-liked and enjoyed playing soccer, was never heard from again. He was last seen wearing a blue and white striped hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and New Balance sneakers.
The initial days and weeks of David's disappearance were filled with uncertainty for his family and investigators. His parents, who had moved to the United States from Mexico over two decades earlier, could not believe he would be involved with gangs. As time stretched on with no communication from David, the case grew more concerning. Law enforcement classified him as a "critically missing" person, noting the absence of typical teenage runaway behavior like social media or phone activity. In 2019, authorities publicly announced they had received "concerning information" regarding his case and that of another missing teenager from the area, and a $10,000 reward was offered for information. The investigation into David's disappearance was extensive, eventually involving the Annapolis Police Department, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and the FBI.
The heartbreaking resolution to David Rivera's case came nearly seven years after he vanished. In January 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that three members of the MS-13 gang had pleaded guilty to numerous crimes, including the murder of David Rivera. It was revealed that on the night he disappeared, David was lured to a park outside of Edgewater, Maryland, by MS-13 members where he was tragically attacked and killed with machetes. His remains were not discovered until June 7, 2024. A memorial service was held for David in July 2025, allowing his loved ones to finally lay him to rest. The case of David Rivera is a devastating example of a young life cut short by senseless violence, leaving a family and community to grapple with an immense loss.Last Seen: Aug 29, 2017
