20 skulls found on New Mexico property may be linked to missing woman

Evidence of as many as 20 human skulls was located in New Mexico property after a witness had an “unsettling encounter” with a man he offered a ride.

Lea County Sheriff’s Office said while the witness drove Cecil Villanueva to his destination last week, the man “made alarming statements and discarded objects” that appeared to be human bones from the two bags he had with him. The driver alerted authorities.

“Subsequent searches near a convenience store and Villanueva’s reported location revealed bone fragments later confirmed by a pathologist to be human,” police said in a statement.

Villanueva had been staying at a property “associated with rumors of human remains,” according to police.

Investigators believe the case could be connected to the 2019 disappearance of Jal, New Mexico, resident Angela McManes, who lived near the site where the remains were discovered. They want to know if there was any connection between Villanueva and the missing woman.

McManes’ family started a Facebook page to help locate the 43-year-old mother of three after reporting her missing in June 2019.

Police said at the time her children became concerned when they were unable to reach their mom. When they went to McManes’ home, they discovered items including her only bra, cellphone, diabetic medication, glasses, cigarettes “and other personal items” she would’ve been unlikely to leave behind.

Several weeks passed before she was reported missing, police told New Mexico’s Hobbs News Sun in 2020. Authorities said McManes was in poor health and sometimes stayed with friends or relatives.