Body found in NC river, police searching for two suspects linked to killing

A body was found in the Swannanoa River in North Carolina and now police say two people are wanted for murder.

On Sept. 27, the Asheville Police Department said 19-year-old Jose Renoso Ramirez was reported missing and last seen at a home in Woodfin, North Carolina.

An anonymous tip came in on Oct. 2 regarding a body in the Swannanoa River in Asheville, investigators said.

The body was Ramirez, police said. Because of the suspicious nature of the death, police said they were investigating his death as a homicide.

Police now say investigators are now looking for 31-year-old Samuel Gonzalez De La Cruz and 44-year-old Roberto Robles-Ramirez.

They are both suspects in the murder of Ramirez and have been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping, officials said. Police have not said what led them to connect the two suspects to the man's death.

Authorities said De La Cruz is 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighs 140 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Officers said he has a tattoo of a rosary with a praying hand on his upper arm.

Robles-Ramirez is 5-feet-7-inches tall and weighs 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes, officials said.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Asheville Police at (828) 252-1110.