In May of 2002, 24-year-old Evelyn Hernandez disappeared from San Francisco just days before her due date. Her 5-year-old son, Alex, was with her. Evelyn was a devoted mother, an immigrant from El Salvador, and a woman working hard to raise her family. On the evening of May 1, she picked her son up from preschool, returned home, and was never seen again.
Two and a half months later, Evelyn’s partial remains were found floating in the San Francisco Bay. Her torso, still clothed in a maternity blouse, had washed up near Pier 30. Her head, arms, and legs were missing. The baby she was carrying — a full-term son she planned to name Fernando — was never found. Neither was Alex.
It was a horrific, heartbreaking case. And yet — most people have never heard of Evelyn Hernandez.
Just seven months later, another pregnant woman disappeared from Northern California: Laci Peterson. Her case gripped the nation. The media coverage was constant. Her face was everywhere. And when her husband, Scott Peterson, was arrested for her murder and the death of their unborn son, it became one of the most closely followed trials of the decade.
Laci’s story deserved attention. But so did Evelyn’s.
So why didn’t Evelyn get it?
The Unequal Spotlight
Evelyn and Laci’s cases were strikingly similar:
- Both were young, pregnant women who vanished in the Bay Area.
- Both were later found dead, their bodies discovered in the San Francisco Bay.
- Both involved unborn sons who never got to take a first breath.
- And both had intimate partners with possible motives.
But Evelyn’s story — a working-class immigrant woman of color — was largely ignored.
There were no nationwide search efforts. No major media blitz. No daily press conferences or candlelight vigils on cable news. Her friends struggled to get her case covered at all. Even America’s Most Wanted declined to feature Evelyn’s disappearance — citing a lack of an active warrant — despite having covered other missing person cases under similar conditions.
It wasn’t just a media oversight. It was a pattern — one that plays out again and again in true crime, where the victims who receive the most coverage tend to be white, middle-class, and conventionally “marketable” to audiences. It’s what’s often called Missing White Woman Syndrome. And Evelyn’s case has become one of its most glaring examples.
Three Victims, No Justice
Evelyn’s story is more than a case file. She was a real woman with a bright smile and a determined spirit. She raised her son Alex on her own, worked as a hotel clerk and a vocational nurse, and loved dancing and spending time with friends. She had decorated her apartment for the new baby. Her sisters were planning a baby shower. She had everything ready to welcome Fernando into the world.
Instead, all three of them — Evelyn, Alex, and baby Fernando — were taken. And no one has ever been arrested for it.
Evelyn’s boyfriend at the time, a man named Herman Aguilera, was the last known person to see her. He was married to another woman — something Evelyn reportedly found out late in the pregnancy. Investigators acknowledged there were tensions between them. Aguilera was even paying Evelyn’s rent. But despite suspicions, no charges were ever filed, and Aguilera eventually lawyered up and stopped speaking to police. The case went cold.
Today, more than two decades later, Alex is still missing, and Evelyn’s murder remains unsolved.
Why This Case Matters Now
Cases like Evelyn’s deserve our attention not just because of the horror of what happened, but because of what they reveal about whose stories we choose to tell — and whose we don’t.
They raise uncomfortable but essential questions:
- Why do some victims become household names while others fade into silence?
- How do race, class, immigration status, and family structure affect whether the media takes interest?
- What happens to justice when a case is ignored from the start?
In our latest podcast episode, we dive into Evelyn’s full story: who she was, what happened, and how her case was overshadowed by another, more “media-friendly” narrative. It’s a story of motherhood, violence, injustice — and of a woman whose name should be remembered.
We hope this episode brings Evelyn’s voice back into the conversation and helps shine a light on all the other Evelyn’s whose stories go untold.
Listen now: “Who Gets Remembered? Evelyn Hernandez and the Media Divide”
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
If you know anything about the disappearance of Evelyn and Alex Hernandez, contact the San Francisco Police Cold Case Unit. A $100,000 reward remains available.
Say their names: Evelyn Hernandez. Alex Hernandez. Baby Fernando.
They mattered. And they still do.
Vanished Voices is a true crime podcast dedicated to the cases that don’t get the attention they deserve — unsolved cases of people of color, LGBTQ+ victims, MMIW cases, and stories that still need tips to be solved. New episodes drop every Thursday. Subscribe and follow us anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Have thoughts on this story or other cases you’d like to see highlighted? Share them with us in the comments or connect with us on social media. Together, we can ensure that stories like this one are never forgotten.
Don’t forget to follow us on social media, @VanishedVoicesPod, share your thoughts, and let us know what you’d like to hear about in future episodes. If you have any true crime stories of your own, send them our way Vanishedvoicespodcast@gmail.com to be featured on a future episode! And as always, Refuse to let these voices vanish. See you in the next episode of Vanished Voices!
Resources:
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California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General. (n.d.). Alex Hernandez [Missing person case file]. Alex Hernandez | State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General
Cortés, L. (Director). (2025). Murder has two faces [Docuseries]. Cortés Filmworks; Blue Ant Studios; ABC News Studios; Hulu.
Delk, A. F. (2025, May 8). The Evelyn Hernandez case: A vanished girl, a hidden crime, and the shadows behind a high-profile trial. Medium. The Evelyn Hernandez Case: A Vanished Girl, A Hidden Crime, and the Shadows Behind a High-Profile Trial | by Amara Amadeo | Medium
Hewitt, B. (2004, July 12). The “other” Laci Peterson: Who killed Evelyn Hernandez? People, 60(1). The “other” Laci Peterson: Who killed Evelyn Hernandez?
Lee, H. K. (2003, May 3). Woman whose body was found in bay mourned. San Francisco Chronicle. Woman whose body was found in bay mourned
Lee, H. K. (2003). Lawyers seek murder link to Peterson case: They subpoena files on woman killed in 2002. San Francisco Chronicle. https://www.sfgate.com
Morbidology. (2026, February 9). The forgotten mother: Evelyn Hernandez. The Forgotten Mother: Evelyn Hernandez • Morbidology
San Francisco Police Department. (n.d.). Evelyn Hernandez [Cold case investigation]. Evelyn Hernandez | San Francisco Police Department
San Francisco Police Department. (2019). Evelyn Hernandez reward bulletin [PDF]. Evelyn Hernandez reward bulletin
St. John, K. (2003, April 21). Eerily similar case languishes in obscurity: Torso of missing pregnant mom was found in S.F. Bay last year. San Francisco Chronicle. Eerily similar case languishes in obscurity / Torso of missing pregnant mom was found in S.F. Bay last year
The Morbid Library. (n.d.). The unsolved: Evelyn Hernandez. https://themorbidlibrary.com/the-unsolved-evelyn-hernandez/
Van Derbeken, J. (2002, July 29). Foul play feared for vanished mother. San Francisco Chronicle. Foul play feared for vanished mother / S.F. woman, son last seen May 1
Voices for Justice Podcast. (2023, October 19). Murdered and missing: Evelyn and Alex Hernandez. Murdered and Missing: Evelyn and Alex Hernandez
We The Missing. (2024, September 14). Alexis “Alex” Hernandez — May 1, 2002 — San Francisco, California, United States of America. Alexis “Alex” Hernandez – May 1, 2002 – San Francisco, California, United States of America
ABC News. (2003, July 27). Almost Laci Peterson, but no attention. ABC News. Almost Laci Peterson, But No Attention – ABC News