Texas man leads investigators to missing woman’s body buried in ‘clandestine grave,’ sheriff says

Two people are in custody after authorities located the buried remains of a woman who went missing weeks ago in Texas.

Megan Martinez, 27, was last seen alive in Madisonville at Mini Store & Wash Dry, where she was in a car that belonged to Amber Garrett, Madison County Sheriff Bobby Adams said at a Feb. 23 news conference, KWTX reported.

Martinez’s family reported her missing four days later, and investigators who searched 27-year-old Garrett’s car allegedly found evidence that led them to believe someone had suffered a serious injury, according to Adams.

Police named Garrett and Yudon Allen, 48, as persons of interest in the case, and Allen, who cooperated with authorities, led investigators to Martinez’s remains in a “clandestine grave” in the woods of a secluded area in San Jacinto County, Adams said.

Chief Deputy Steven Jeter of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office noted tips from the public aided investigators on the case.

“Through some of that information that was developed we were able to go back to some locations here in the city, pull some video which actually got us having her get into a car and we were able to backtrack and ultimately led us to Amber,” Jeter said.

Garrett faces a charge of first-degree murder and was being held on a $1.5 million bond. Allen was being held without bond on charges of fabricating evidence in an attempt to impair a corpse.

Police have not released a possible motive for the murder.

Chief Deputy Jeter said the victim’s death hit close to home for law enforcement.

“[Martinez] has been known here for a long time,” he explained. “We have several people in our agency that grew up with her, so this is awful for them as well.”