Gang Violence
In this photo, a policeman interrogates a suspected gang member prior to a ceremony to declare their communities a peace zone at La Selva neighborhood in Ilopango, El Salvador, Feb. 3, 2017. The man was later released. Inhabitants of southern Ilopango declared their neighborhoods as violence-free zones to lower homicide rates in one of the most violent areas of El Salvador. Reuters

A Maryland woman, Angelica Ivania Barahona-Rivas, 18, was reported missing Saturday after leaving her job at a restaurant in Gaithersburg, a city in Montgomery County, the Montgomery County Police Department said in a press release. The woman is related to 15-year old Damaris Alexandra Reyes Rivas, who disappeared in December and was later killed in a suspected gang-related attack, police told WTOP.

Barahona-Rivas was last known to be at work in her restaurant located at 9615 Lost Knife Road in Gaithersburg Saturday night at about 9 p.m. It is believed that she left work soon after — before her shift time was scheduled to get over.

She was described to be 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 1,590 pounds. She was apparently wearing a tan shirt, a gray jacket, black boots and carried a pink purse, as told by Montgomery County police to WTOP.

Barahona-Rivas' family and friends told police that they had failed to contact her. There are some indications about Barahona-Rivas possibly being in the New Jersey area, police said in the press release.

The Montgomery County police also urged the public to contact them at 301-279-8000 if they find any information about Barahona-Rivas' whereabouts.

Meanwhile, in the gang-related disappearance and death of Reyes Rivas, 10 people have so far been charged. During the investigation of this case, in mid-January, Fairfax County detectives notified Montgomery County investigators that they believed Reyes Rivas might have been in the company of gang members in their jurisdiction. At that time, detectives from both Fairfax County and Montgomery County coordinated the investigation and continued to work together until Reyes Rivas' death was confirmed February 13th, a press release from Montgomery Police Department stated.

The increase in deaths and disappearnaces have been linked to a rise in gang activity in Montgomery County, where predominatly the M-13 gang operates, which has its roots in Los Angeles and Central America, according to several media reports.

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