When 24-year-old Gabriella Cartagena told her mother she was sorry and pleaded not to be shot, the call triggered a multistate search. Within days, the Wisconsin woman was found dead in Michigan, her boyfriend jailed in Minnesota, and prosecutors were preparing charges while key questions about her death remained unanswered.
TLDR
Police say 24-year-old Gabriella Cartagena vanished after a distress call from a Marinette, Wisconsin, park. Her body was later found in Michigan. Her boyfriend, 29-year-old Robert Chilcote, is jailed in Minnesota and faces extradition to Wisconsin on an aggravated battery charge.
Background: News footage of Red Arrow Park in Marinette, Wisconsin. Inset images show Gabriella Cartagena and her boyfriend, Robert Chilcote, provided by law enforcement.
From Distress Call to Missing Person Case
According to the Marinette Police Department, Cartagena was last seen by family members on February 4th. That evening, at approximately 7:19 p.m., her mother received a phone call in which relatives heard Cartagena plead, “Please don’t shoot me, I’m sorry.” After the call ended, the family contacted the police and reported her missing.
Relatives told officers they believed Cartagena was at Red Arrow Park in Marinette with her boyfriend, 29-year-old Robert Chilcote. Officers searching the park reported finding what they described as possible blood and other disturbances at the scene, according to information later shared at a police press conference.
Local station WBAY reported that investigators confirmed the timing of the call to Cartagena’s mother and that the Marinette Police Department treated the case as high risk from the outset. Another local outlet, WLUK, reported that data from Cartagena’s phone placed it at Red Arrow Park around the time of the call, reinforcing the family’s account of where she was that evening.
As hours passed without contact, the missing person case expanded beyond Marinette. Police alerted agencies in neighboring states, and information about Cartagena’s disappearance circulated in local media while detectives tried to retrace her movements that day.
Traffic Stop in Minnesota Shifts the Search
The first major break came not in Wisconsin, but in Minnesota. According to a probable cause statement cited by WBAY, authorities in Wright County, Minnesota, were notified on February 5th that Chilcote was a person of interest in an aggravated assault and possible homicide connected to the Marinette investigation.
When deputies from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office located Chilcote’s red Toyota Prius, they initiated a traffic stop. Law enforcement officials said Chilcote initially pulled over but refused to get out of the vehicle. He then allegedly drove away, leading deputies on a pursuit that lasted about 16 minutes and reached speeds near 100 mph.
Deputies used stop sticks in an attempt to disable the vehicle. According to the statement described by WBAY, Chilcote tried to avoid the devices, but he drove over a median and collided with a stop sign, which allowed deputies to catch up and arrest him.
Wright County authorities booked Chilcote on accusations of fleeing a peace officer and being a fugitive wanted in another state. Court records cited by Law & Crime indicate that he was held on a $100,000 bond while Wisconsin authorities worked to advance their own case.
Marinette Police Chief Jon LaCombe said at a news conference that detectives from his department traveled to Minnesota to interview Chilcote while he was in custody there. Officials did not publicly disclose what Chilcote told investigators, but LaCombe said his movements during the days Cartagena was missing became central to the search for her.
Body Found in Michigan, Charges Filed in Wisconsin
Those investigative leads ultimately took officers across a third state line. According to LaCombe, information about Chilcote’s travel helped guide authorities to a wooded area in Menominee County, Michigan, where officers located Cartagena’s body on a Tuesday, several days after she was first reported missing.
Investigators told reporters they believe Cartagena was killed at Red Arrow Park in Marinette, then transported across the state border into Michigan. Officials have not publicly detailed what led them to that conclusion, and they have not yet described the specific injuries that caused her death.
At the time of the press conference, Marinette County District Attorney DeShea Morrow said her office had requested Chilcote’s extradition to Wisconsin to face an aggravated battery charge related to the events of February 4th. Morrow said additional counts could follow, depending on the results of an autopsy and further investigation into how Cartagena died.
Once returned to Wisconsin, Chilcote is expected to be booked into the Marinette County Jail. Morrow said prosecutors intend to ask for $500,000 cash bail. A court appearance in Marinette County was scheduled for February 20th.
As of the most recent public statements, Chilcote had not been charged with homicide in Wisconsin. Investigators have described him as a person of interest in Cartagena’s death, and prosecutors have signaled that charging decisions will depend in part on medical findings and the complete investigative record.
Family Grieves Across State Lines
Cartagena’s death turned what began as a missing person alert into a multistate homicide investigation stretching across Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. While agencies coordinated interviews, extradition paperwork, and forensic examinations, her family began preparing for a funeral.
Relatives created an online fundraising campaign to help cover burial costs and travel expenses. In a public statement on the campaign page, Cartagena’s brother wrote that she left behind a 3-year-old daughter, underscoring the personal impact behind the case file and charging documents.
The overlapping investigations now hinge on several unresolved questions. Medical examiners in Michigan are tasked with determining Cartagena’s cause and manner of death. Prosecutors in Wisconsin must decide whether the evidence supports more serious charges than aggravated battery. Minnesota courts are handling the fleeing and fugitive counts, as well as the process of returning Chilcote to Wisconsin custody.
For Cartagena’s family, the timeline is already clear. A frightening phone call from a park in Marinette was followed by days of searching across the Midwest and, ultimately, the discovery of her body in another state. For investigators and prosecutors, the work ahead will determine how, and in which courts, anyone will be held criminally responsible for what happened after that call.
