Vehicle connected to death of Vancouver woman located; person of interest still at-large

Oregon police on Tuesday night located a vehicle thought to be connected to the homicide of Vancouver resident Lilia Cosco-Ortiz, whose body was found Oct. 2 near Lafayette, Ore.

The Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office said the vehicle in question, a white 2003 Toyota Tacoma, was found parked in southwest Beaverton. It was seized for a search.

The following morning, officers and a SWAT team searched a nearby residence. They did not find Cosco-Ortiz’s live-in partner and a person of interest in the case, 37-year-old Victor Villalba, who also goes by Victor Bello Rojas.

Villalba was last seen driving the recovered pickup.

Cosco-Ortiz, 37, was last seen leaving her Vancouver home with Villalba late Oct. 1. Family members said they thought she was headed to the Oregon Coast, according to the Yamhill County District Attorney’s Office.

She was expected back home that night or the next day. Family members reported her as missing to the Vancouver Police Department when she didn’t return, officials said.

Someone driving in a blueberry field near Lafayette, about 35 miles southeast of Portland, found her body and contacted police Oct. 2.

The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office later determined Cosco-Ortiz death was a homicide.

The Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office asked anyone who might come in contact with Melcher Villalba to call 911. Anyone with helpful information can contact Yamhill sheriff’s office Detective Justin Brester at 503-434-7506 or bresterj@co.yamhill.or.us.