Teacher, 24, missing for weeks found dead on holiday, boyfriend arrested
A 24-year-old teacher her been found dead weeks after she vanished while on holiday.
Alexandra Morales lived in the US state of Georgia, and was visiting Mexico to see family and go to a concert when she went missing.
Her body was found in a car in Jalisco state, in the country's west, on Tuesday (local time), Mexican officials said on Thursday, according to NBC News.
A 28-year-old man, who has been identified by Telemundo Atlanta as Ms Morales' boyfriend, has been arrested, the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office said.
Ms Morales was reported missing on October 30 when she was last seen at a concert in Zapopan, near Guadalajara.
The man in custody is facing charges of aggravated disappearance, but authorities are gathering evidence to see if he committed femicide, 11Alive reported.
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Students, parents mourn beloved 24-year-old teacher
Ms Morales was a first grade teacher at Benefield Elementary School just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
One of her students' parents, Maria Palacios, said her daughter, 6, was devastated by the teacher's death.
"My heart sank. She was so natural at it and the kids loved her. They had so much fun," Ms Palacios told CBS46.
The parent said her daughter did not take the news very well.
"Before I could get the words out, my daughter was crying already," Ms Palacios said.
"I had to respond, explaining what it means to not come back, that Ms Morales was not coming back."
The mother said her daughter, whose first language is Spanish, had a special bond with Ms Morales as she was her first bilingual teacher.
"She was the first teacher she identified with personally, and it was the first teacher my daughter said, 'I want to be a teacher, like Ms Morales'," Ms Palacios said.
The teacher's sorority sisters are raising money for Ms Morales's family.
"Alexa was adored by her parents and loved by her two brothers. She had a passion for adventure and traveling around the world was her joy," they wrote on their GoFundMe.
"She was the most caring teacher to all of her students and her first-grade babies will miss her dearly."
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