Two families in northern Indiana are waiting on formal word from the Berrien County medical examiner after divers pulled a submerged Jeep from the St. Joseph River on Tuesday afternoon. Inside the vehicle were two bodies wearing clothes that match what 24-year-old Vanessa Bautista and 23-year-old Alexandra Navarro wore when they disappeared over the weekend.
Bautista and Navarro, both young mothers from South Bend, went missing early Sunday morning, September 13. Friends and family last spoke with them after they spent Saturday night out in Elkhart before driving toward the Niles area. When neither woman returned home or answered phone calls through Sunday afternoon, relatives filed missing-person reports with South Bend police and started searching roads along their expected route.
For two days, volunteers and local officers scanned rural stretches connecting Elkhart, South Bend, and southern Michigan. Search teams focused heavily on river crossings and sharp turns near the state line. That effort ended Tuesday, September 15, when responders spotted a dark SUV deep under the water near a steep embankment along the river in Niles.
Crews used heavy tow cables to haul the Jeep Grand Cherokee out of the water and onto the bank. Police Chief James Millin confirmed officers discovered two individuals inside the cabin. While official identification relies on upcoming autopsy findings, investigators noted the physical descriptions and clothing aligned directly with the missing South Bend women.
Bautista was 24 years old, and friends described her as a devoted mother who rarely went anywhere without letting her family know her plans. Navarro, 23, shared a tight bond with Bautista, and the two frequently traveled together between local towns. Their sudden silence on Sunday immediately alarmed loved ones who knew both women maintained steady daily routines.
Police have not said how the vehicle ended up going over the embankment or into the current. Investigators are looking at road conditions, vehicle mechanics, and phone records from early Sunday morning to piece together the moments before the crash. Chief Millin stated that detectives are keeping all possibilities open while they wait for toxicological and forensic results.
For the families in South Bend, the wait for formal identification brings a quiet, agonizing pause. Search posts on social media have turned into spaces for shared memories and prayers. Neighbors and community members have gathered at local parks to support the relatives, hoping for clear answers about what happened on that stretch of road in Niles.
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