Police said clothing on the two women matched descriptions of Vanessa Bautista and Alexa Navarro, but formal identification remained pending.
NILES, MI — Two women believed to be missing South Bend mothers Vanessa Bautista and Alexa Navarro were found dead Tuesday inside a Jeep submerged in the St. Joseph River, according to Niles police, ending a multiday search while leaving investigators to determine how the vehicle entered the water.
Police had not formally identified the women as of Tuesday night. Niles City Police Chief James Millin said their clothing matched descriptions of Bautista, 24, and Navarro, 23, who had been missing since early Sunday. The vehicle also matched the gray 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee connected to their disappearance. Investigators said the case remains active despite the discovery.
Bautista and Navarro, both of South Bend, had gone out with friends Saturday night to The Arena Nightclub in Elkhart, according to relatives interviewed by local news organizations. Family members said the women later dropped off a friend in South Bend and planned to get food. Relatives reported losing contact with them early Sunday morning, and location information from a phone later placed them in the Niles area.
The women were reported missing Sunday, prompting searches involving relatives, volunteers and law enforcement agencies in Indiana and Michigan. Police departments in South Bend, Elkhart and Niles worked on the investigation as authorities tried to reconstruct the women’s movements after they left Elkhart. Family and community members also searched areas of Niles and distributed information about the women and the Jeep.
The search intensified Tuesday as crews used resources that included police personnel, K-9 teams and drones. Investigators eventually located a vehicle submerged in the St. Joseph River. Crews worked to bring the Jeep to shore so investigators could examine it and recover the two women inside.
Millin said investigators believe the vehicle traveled over an embankment and entered the river, but police had not determined exactly what happened before it left the roadway. Authorities had not announced whether speed, impairment, a mechanical problem, another vehicle or any other factor played a role. The precise circumstances surrounding the crash remained under investigation.
The discovery followed two days of uncertainty for the women’s families. Before the Jeep was located, relatives had sought clearer information about which agency was overseeing the case because the women’s movements crossed South Bend and Elkhart in Indiana and Niles in Michigan. Niles police later took the lead in the investigation after the vehicle and bodies were found within the city.
Family members and other community residents had gathered during the search to pray for the women and help circulate information about their disappearance. Both Bautista and Navarro were described publicly as mothers, and their disappearance drew a large response from relatives, friends and volunteers across the South Bend and Niles areas.
Police said recovering the Jeep and the two bodies does not end the investigation. Authorities are expected to use autopsy and toxicology findings, along with evidence from the vehicle and the surrounding area, as they work to confirm the women’s identities and determine why the Jeep entered the river. No final cause or manner of death had been announced.
Author note: Last updated September 16, 2026.