Body of missing California mother Rachel Castillo found

A California mother-of-two has been found dead and her ex-husband arrested as a prime suspect – three days after she went missing and a “significant amount of blood” was found in her home, police said.

Rachel Castillo, 25, was last seen early Thursday by her sister Emily Castillo, with whom she was staying with their two young sons, aged 2 and 5.

Police launched a frantic search for the missing woman after saying they found “a significant amount of blood” at the Simi Valley home.

“Detectives have found the human remains of an adult female at a remote location in Antelope Valley,” police said in a statement late Sunday.

The remains have been identified as Castillo’s, police said.

“The prime suspect in this case is Rachel’s ex-husband, 25, City of Hawthorne resident Zarbab Ali. Mr. Ali was arrested this afternoon at his parents’ home in Victorville in connection with Rachel’s murder,” the statement said.

“This investigation has progressed rapidly over the past few days. This case is still under investigation and some details cannot be released for legal and investigative reasons,” the police added.

Ali is the father of Castillo’s two sons and would pick up the kids from his ex every Thursday morning, her family told KCBS-TV.

The boys were picked up by Ali that morning, the Los Angeles Times reported. It is unclear where the children are now.

On Saturday, Emily Castillo told KABC-TV that when she got home on Thursday, her sister was gone, but there was a lot of blood.

“As soon as I saw the blood, I knew something was wrong,” Emily told the news channel. “So I called my mom to let her know to come over and then I called 911 right away.

“I was running around the house trying to see if I could find them anywhere,” she added.

Rachel’s mother, Robyn Castillo, said her daughter should spend the day working from home at her job for a social services agency, the newspaper reported.

Her personal belongings, including her cellphone, car keys and vehicle, were still in the home when she disappeared, police said.

Rachel’s father, Christopher, a retired federal corrections officer, drove in from Northern California on Friday to help with the search, NBC Los Angeles reported.

“She needs immediate help,” he told the news publisher Friday night, urging anyone with information on her whereabouts to call authorities.

“Imagine if that were your child,” he said.

On Sunday evening, members of the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church gathered for a prayer vigil before learning of the tragic outcome.

“We miss you, we love you, you just need to know we want to come home and you are so, so loved and if you can hear this message you know we surround you with love,” Sergio Lopez said , reported KCBS.