NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The Napa County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in identifying two men who were seen in the company of a woman who hours later was found mortally injured on Highway 29 last November.
Maria Cruz Pascual Bejar, 57, of Rohnert Park, was found lying in the roadway in the 4100 block of Highway 29 near Old Lawley Toll Road shortly before 4:45 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16. Authorities said Lake County residents driving through the area had found her, as Lake County News has reported.
Emergency personnel found that Bejar was suffering from major injuries resulting from being run over by a vehicle, according to Capt. Doug Pike of the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.
Bejar died as she was being flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment, with an autopsy revealing that she suffered multiple blunt force trauma consistent with being struck by a vehicle, Pike said.
Napa County Sheriff's detectives are now seeking information about two men seen with Bejar the night before she died, according to Pike.
Pike said the two men are Hispanic, with one being between 28 to 40 years old, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 10 inches in height, with a medium build, and black hair and a goatee. The second man is 25 to 35 years of age, 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, with a heavier build and short, dark-colored hair.
Bejar lived and worked in Rohnert Park, Calif., and spent her final day – before she was found in Napa County – in the Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa area, Pike said. Friends said she did not own a car and routinely traveled by bus.
About 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15, the victim left home for the Santa Rosa Plaza. Following her shopping trip, she visited Quincy’s Pub and Grill in Rohnert Park. Pike said she arrived there around 6 p.m. and appeared to be alone.
Later, at about 8 p.m., she was captured on video at the Mi Ranchito Mexican Restaurant in Cotati, where she met up with two unknown Hispanic male adults at the bar, Pike said.
Pike said all three of them left together at around 10:30 p.m., and she was seen holding hands with one of the males, who had a goatee.
The trio then traveled to the Casa Del Mar restaurant in Santa Rosa. They arrived there about 11 p.m. and were again captured on video. According to witnesses, the victim and her male companions remained there dancing until 12:30 a.m. Nov. 16.
In an effort to identify Bejar's two male companions, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office has posted video of her and the two men on YouTube; the video can be seen above.
Investigators are asking anyone who may know the identity of the victim’s two male companions to contact the Napa County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Bureau at 707-253-4591, leave an anonymous tip with Napa Valley Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-450-9543 or text a tip to 274637 with “NVCS” at the beginning of the tip.