HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Hector Olmeda Jr.'s family describes him as a family man, a great son, and an amazing and devoted father.
Hector Jr. spent most of his life living outside Chicago. He eventually joined the Navy as a cryptologic technician.
“He dedicated himself a hundred percent and gave himself 100 percent,” said his father, Hector E. Olmeda Sr.
In January 2024, Olmeda said Hector Jr. relocated to Portsmouth to help a friend renovate his house.
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“He told me this individual, whom he called his ‘Navy brother,’ was going through a divorce and had bought a house. He asked my son if he could go remodel some of the house,” his dad said.
Hector Jr. regularly kept in contact with his family.
Then, communication stopped.
Days and weeks passed without any word from Hector Jr. His father, a recently retired law enforcement officer, said he filed a missing person’s report over the phone with Portsmouth police. Eventually, he made the trip from the Midwest to Virginia.
“I went to the police station, identified myself, and asked what the update was and what was going on,” he said.
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He said police told him they were going to conduct some search warrants, but that answer didn’t help much. At this point, Portsmouth police had issued a missing person’s alert for Hector Jr.
Deep down, Hector Jr.’s father knew something wasn’t right. After a few weeks, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) called Hector Jr.’s father and asked for his DNA.
“They claimed it was just procedures, but I knew something was up,” he said. A few days passed. Hector’s father was on his way to work after staying at his cousin's house in Chicago.
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“I was driving back to work when she (his cousin) called me. She said, ‘Hector, where are you? Can you come back? I need you to come back right away.’”
When Hector Jr.’s father returned to his cousin’s house, what he saw made his heart sink.
“I saw my lieutenant there. I saw some of the officers there that I know, and I knew right there that he [Hector Jr.] had passed,” his dad told News 3’s Jay Greene. “It was frustrating because all they could tell me was that he passed. But they had no body,” his father added.
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Hector’s father, who now resides in Puerto Rico, told Greene he believes his son died sometime in February, closer to when Hector Jr. was reported missing.
The family recently held a funeral service in Chicago to celebrate Hector Jr.’s life. It included a ceremony with Navy personnel along with his now-11-year-old daughter.
“It was a beautiful day,” he said. “It felt so nice to see him recognized as a veteran, and them thanking him for being a veteran and for his service...everything was beautiful.”
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But his father says it all still feels unreal.
“I feel like a nightmare,” he said. “That one day I’m going to get a call or text...and it’s Junior calling me saying, ‘I’m sorry, I’m hiding here, don’t worry, I’m good.’”
NCIS told News 3’s Jay Greene the investigation is ongoing, no charges have been filed, and they won’t be commenting any further on the investigation.
It should be noted that Hector Jr.’s friend, mentioned earlier in the story, was arrested following a police chase. This happened after Hector’s disappearance.
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After the arrest, police said they found documents related to Hector Olmeda Jr. in the car. Those documents led police to a search of the friend’s home in Portsmouth, where investigators found blood stains, possible human remains, and burnt tools.
As of now, the friend is not facing any charges related to Hector Jr.’s disappearance.
The investigation remains ongoing, with the case shrouded in uncertainty, leaving the Olmeda family to grapple with their loss and an enduring quest for answers.
