Pomona man found dead of suspected suicide in garage, wife missing

POMONA, Calif. (KABC) -- Pomona police are searching for a woman who went missing a few days before her husband was found dead of a suspected suicide in their garage.

Officers responded to a report of a possible suicide at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and found the body of Ivan Hernandez. Investigators believe Hernandez may have called police himself before taking his own life.

Candles and flowers have since been placed in front of the garage where his body was found.

"He's a good guy, a really great guy," Hernandez's 19-year-old son, Fernando Zarate, said. "I'm gonna miss him, you know. He did teach me a lot of things, like how to take care of my brothers."

Hernandez lived at the home with his wife, 38-year-old Marisela Fabian Hernandez. Zarate said his parents were having marital problems and had accumulated a lot of debt.

She was last seen leaving for work on Sunday, but she never showed up. Her car was found at their home and efforts by her family to reach her have been unsuccessful.

"She hasn't come back since. We've tried calling her, her phone just goes straight to voicemail," Zarate said.

Zarate said his mom had a pattern of leaving, the last time was about a month ago for three days to possibly meet a boyfriend in New York.

Pomona police say her disappearance is suspicious, but there's no evidence of foul play.

"All we have is a possible boyfriend that she used to visit by the name of Alex. We believe that Alex lives in Albany, New York, so hopefully if anybody has any additional information regarding this gentleman, bring that to our attention," Pomona police Sgt. Marcus Perez said.

Zarate had the following message for his mom: "Just come home, we really need [you] right now."

Marisela is about 5 feet, 3 inches tall, 133 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts was asked to call Detective John Edson at (909) 841-6382 or Detective Luna at (909) 841-6107.