San Joaquin County prosecutors say Joshua Anthony Martinez has been rearrested and indicted in the 2019 disappearance of 16-year-old Victoria Marquina. Martinez, who was initially arrested and released in connection with the Amador County teen’s vanishing in October 2019, is now charged with murder and multiple alleged sex offenses involving a minor. The indictment was returned in San Joaquin County and Martinez is being held without bail, according to the county jail booking log and the district attorney’s office.
San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas, who said he met Marquina’s mother shortly after taking office, described the case as one that has weighed heavily on him. He told reporters he has thought about the family’s loss almost every day since he became DA and was determined to pursue accountability.
Authorities say Martinez, 21 at the time Victoria disappeared, was in what prosecutors describe as an unlawful dating relationship with the teenager. Prosecutors say he admitted to law enforcement that he dropped Marquina off in the town of Sutter Creek. Officials allege Martinez left the country for Mexico soon after she vanished and was later extradited back to the United States before his earlier arrest.
Victoria’s body has not been recovered. Her vehicle and cellphone were found in San Joaquin County not long after she went missing. Her mother, Blance Valencia, has publicly appealed for information and said she imagines the life her daughter might have had — school, graduation and pursuing her many dreams — while continuing to hold out hope for answers.
When Martinez was first detained, the sheriff’s office said investigators had circumstantial evidence suggesting he was responsible for Marquina’s death. In 2025 the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office created a cold-case task force to reexamine unsolved cases including Marquina’s. The Amador County district attorney later authorized prosecutions to proceed in San Joaquin County under laws that allow multi-county jurisdiction, and a Stockton grand jury indicted Martinez on the charges.
Investigators continue to ask anyone with information to come forward to help locate Victoria or provide evidence related to her disappearance and presumed killing.