The family of a Southern California mother found dead in a ditch is speaking out against the official investigation.
Caroline Davenport Rios, 39, of Perris, was discovered in a ditch off Highway 74 near Hemet in Riverside County on August 12. The California Highway Patrol is investigating her death as a potential hit-and-run, but her relatives remain deeply skeptical of that theory.
The victim’s sister, Jennifer Davenport Rios, said 7 that Caroline would not have been walking along the highway under any circumstances. Her body was found approximately four miles from her home.
“She wouldn’t. I mean, that’s it. She just wouldn’t be,” Jennifer Davenport Rios told the station.
The family said CHP investigators told them Caroline’s body could have been in the ditch for three or four days before it was discovered. Jennifer said she had sent a text message to her sister five days before the body was recovered, and her iPhone indicated that the message had been read. She had texted her sister late at night during their last contact.
Jorge Ruiz, the victim’s nephew, also questioned the location where Caroline’s body was found. He noted the lack of surveillance in the area.
“There’s just a field, like what a coincidence that it’s in this spot where there’s not much cameras,” Ruiz said.
A person who appeared to be a friend of Caroline wrote on Facebook that it seemed strange that she would ignore calls or texts. “She didn’t just ignore calls or text messages,” the person wrote. “She didn’t ‘read’ a text and let the phone die. Perhaps it was all just an accident to hit her. BUT WHAT LED to her being left? Why was she walking? Perhaps we will never know, but if you know ANYTHING, please share with us so we can have comfort in knowing.”
Caroline, who was unmarried, had two children, according to friends and family.
The family has started a GoFundMe campaign to cover her burial expenses. “Our family is heartbroken by the tragic and senseless loss of our beloved Caroline Melissa Davenport Rios. While we continue to seek justice for Caroline and ask for help in finding the individual responsible, we are also facing the overwhelming and unexpected costs of laying her to rest,” they wrote on the fundraising page.
If her death was caused by a hit-and-run, her family is urging the perpetrator to come forward and confess.
“It’s inhumane to not, to hit somebody and keep going. You don’t hit a 170-pound person and not realize that you hit them. They knew what they did,” Ruiz said.
Jennifer Davenport Rios wrote on Facebook that any new details in the case would be significant. “Someone knows something,” she wrote. “A vehicle with unexplained damage. A repair that looked unusual. A driver who suddenly changed their story. Someone who was on Highway 74 around that time. Even a small detail could matter.”
“Caroline deserved to come home. Her family deserves answers. She deserves justice,” she added.
In the viral moment that first drew attention to the case, Caroline’s relatives have repeatedly emphasized their doubts about the hit-and-run theory. The circumstances of her death — including the read text message, her apparent unwillingness to walk along the highway, and the remote location with minimal camera coverage — have fueled their suspicions that more may have occurred than a simple traffic accident.
The California Highway Patrol has not publicly named any suspects or persons of interest in the case. The Riverside County Coroner’s Bureau has not released an official cause of death.
The family continues to appeal to the public for information about Caroline’s final days.