Virginia's senators are seeking answers in the death of a Navy sailor whose body was found 10 days after her disappearance from Naval Station Norfolk in the state's Tidewater region.
Seaman Angelina Resendiz, 21, a culinary specialist assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams, was last seen May 29; her body was later found in a wooded area roughly 10 miles from the installation.
Shortly after her disappearance, her mother raised concerns that the Navy was mishandling the case, saying her command failed to file a missing person's report.
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Now, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats representing Virginia, want answers. They wrote to Navy Secretary John Phelan on Wednesday asking for more details about the Navy's response immediately following Resendiz's disappearance and throughout the investigation.
The two said the Navy has provided "some initial information" related to the case to Congress, advocates and family members, but it needed to provide "significantly greater detail about the circumstances."
"We urge you to provide clarity around the actions taken by the Navy upon first learning of Seaman Resendiz's absence, and Navy leaders' adherence to a range of protocols and procedures, including those outlined in [Military Personnel Manual] 1600-040, which governs absent enlisted and officer personnel," they wrote.
"Furthermore, we ask for detail on what investigative steps were taken, and when, by the Navy and its Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), as well as the interactions with local and Virginia State Police," they said.
According to the letter and media accounts after the disappearance, Resendiz's friends and family filed a missing person's report on May 31 after they could not reach her and she did not show up for work. Virginia State Police issued a Critically Missing Alert at the request of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service on June 3.
Esmeralda Castle, Resendiz's mother, flew to Norfolk and sought meetings with the command but said on June 7 that the Navy was not forthcoming with any details regarding the case to date.
"They won't tell me if they have her phone. They won't tell who the last person is she talked to. They won't tell me where she was last," Castle told local station 13News Now.
Resendiz's body was found June 9.
The Virginia Medical Examiner has not released the cause or manner of her death. A spokesman for the office said the outcome of the investigation is still pending.
A sailor was taken into custody shortly after Resendiz was found and remains in pretrial confinement in connection with the investigation "at the command's discretion," according to a statement provided by the NCIS to Military.com.
The Navy's Office of Special Trial Counsel is reviewing the case and will make the decision on any charges, according to the NCIS.
"NCIS will issue an updated statement to announce those charges and refer any further military justice-related questions to OSTC. All sailors are presumed innocent until their guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial," the statement said.
Resendiz joined the Navy in August 2023 and reported to the James E. Williams in February 2024. She made the rank of seaman in February 2025.
After her body was found, the NCIS said that agents worked "tirelessly" with Norfolk Police, Virginia State Police, Virginia Search and Rescue, and "numerous other federal and local law enforcement partners" to find the missing sailor.
The lawmakers asked for a Navy briefing on the case by Aug. 14, including details on the immediate response, the investigation and the return of the sailor's remains to her hometown of Mexia, Texas. According to the senators, Resendiz's body was returned in a condition that caused her family "grief and anger."
"We urge the swift and thorough completion of the criminal investigation, and an associated administrative investigation as the service examines the circumstances of Seaman Resendiz's death," they wrote.
Phelan's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Editor's note: This story was updated to include a statement from the NCIS.
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