Surveillance footage leads to discovery of Sheylla Cabrera’s body in Angeles National Forest

19 August 2025

A mother of three was found dead after going missing in Lancaster. The sheriff's department says her husband has now fled the country.

On a summer morning in Lancaster, California, a missing persons report set off a cascade of discoveries that would unravel into tragedy. Thirty-three-year-old Sheylla Cabrera had been reported missing by concerned loved ones on August 12. Authorities swiftly opened an investigation that would soon hinge on chilling surveillance footage footage that captured her husband, Jossimar Cabrera, dragging a large, wrapped object from their apartment complex on Lancaster Boulevard.

The image of a man burdened by a mysterious package proved to be the linchpin in the investigation. Within days, the couple’s children disappeared with their father. Concern grew as audio-video clips circulated, raising alarm bells well beyond the boundaries of the. Search efforts shifted toward the Angeles National Forest, driven by a grim possibility that hope for Sheylla would prove tragically misplaced.

On August 19, a breakthrough came when members of the Montrose Mountain Search and Rescue Team discovered an object matching the material seen in the surveillance footage, deep within a remote woodland ravine. Investigators confirmed, with heavy hearts, that what lay curled beneath the foliage was indeed the remains of Sheylla Cabrera. The discovery turned the investigation from missing person to homicide, with the Los Angeles County medical examiner now tasked with determining her cause of death.

While tragedy unfolded, Jossimar Cabrera slipped across international borders, fleeing to Peru with the couple’s three young sons. His escape was facilitated by questioning at Lima’s airport during which he convinced authorities in the absence of a formal arrest warrant for his detention. The children were later placed into protective care and returned to Southern California through the efforts of Peruvian and U.S. officials.

Community grief swelled into organized outrage. A vigil outside Sheylla’s apartment complex became a meeting place for neighbors, friends, and candlelit tributes demanding justice. Mourners carried signs that read, “Justice for Sheylla” and “Not one more,” as stories emerged from those who remembered her as a hardworking mother and loyal friend.

Her sister revealed that Sheylla had previously reported psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her husband, who had even struck their youngest child. She had told friends she intended to file a criminal complaint news that made her disappearance especially painful and alarming.

Despite open wounds, authorities pressed forward. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, coordinating with both Peruvian consular representatives and domestic investigators, aimed to arrange for the legal mechanisms that could bring Jossimar Cabrera back to face justice. At stake are not only the children’s welfare but also accountability for a senseless loss of life.

Across Los Angeles County and the broader region, Sheylla’s death served as a reminder of the often invisible perils that lie beneath domestic facades. A playful morning with her sons turned into a haunting homicide discovered by federal search parties. A loving mother vanished, her end foretold by surveillance video as cold and casual as media footage distributed on a cellphone.

Though the case continues to unfold, it is already clear that Sheylla's loss will not go unpursued. Investigators plan to present their findings to the district attorney’s office, hoping to pave the way for murder charges and extradition procedures. As of now, Jossimar remains at large, but Sheylla’s community stands undeterred.

In the end, this case speaks to a greater societal fault line. It speaks of domestic violence ignored, of grief that finds no immediate voice, and of technology that can both hide and herald truth. It speaks of justice, not yet served, seeking its moment to catch up with cruelty and of a community’s demand that Sheylla be seen, remembered, and honored through whatever happens next.