When a New Mexico woman goes missing after a celebratory evening spent with friends,

investigators quickly turn their focus to the last person she was seen with,

the man she'd broken up with just days before.

Unexpected events hinder an investigation,

leaving a family member to advocate fiercely for justice in this episode of Last Seen Alive.

Music for justice in this episode of Last Seen Alive.

Thanks for listening to Last Seen Alive. I'm your host, Leah, crime analyst by day and true crime storyteller by night.

And as always, I'm your co-host, Scott.

Melissa Montoya was last seen alive on March 9, 2001.

If you're listening to this episode on the day it airs, that's

exactly 25 years ago today. Melissa was 42 years old at the time and lived in the Coyote Park

area of Archuleta County, Colorado. Archeletta County is located in the southernmost part of Colorado,

and Melissa was originally from just across

the state line in New Mexico, specifically from the Higaria Apache Nation Reservation. That was

where she'd grown up in the census-designated community of Dulce, which is located on the

reservation. By the time of her disappearance, however, she was living a 30-minute drive away

from Dulce across the state line. She worked on a ranch and was a very independent, physically

strong woman. Those who knew her, like her cousin, Darlene, describe her as, quote, someone who

was very strong and independent and fierce, end quote. That's according to what

Darlene said in an interview with NBC News. And it was that innate strength that had allowed Melissa

to accomplish something very difficult, leaving an abusive relationship. Now, the ranch where Melissa

worked wasn't just where she worked, it was where she lived with her boyfriend.

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