SAN ANTONIO -- Two men have been indicted in separate major cases in Guadalupe County.
- Sarah Gaitan's remains were discovered in March 2016
- Roxanne McGreehan went missing in 2002
- Investigators still seeking tips in cases
Investigators said it is not often for two major cases, unrelated, to come to light through the discovery of one set of human remains in a field in Guadalupe County.
"Had we not had Sarah's case initiated first, I don't know if we would have gotten the momentum built on the McGreehan case," said Guadalupe County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Zachary McBride.
Guadalupe County Sheriff's Office sergeants Robert Murphy and Zachary McBride say the way these two cases connect is rare. In March 2016 a farmer found humans remains in their field belonging to Sarah Gaitan, a San Antonio mother of four who went missing in October 2015.
MORE | Missing San Antonio Woman's Remains Found
"That was the first indication that we were on the right track with Sarah is that we got a positive identification via her dental records," McBride said.
Investigators say her boyfriend, Willie Wanzo, was the last person to see her alive. He is currently serving a prison sentence on unrelated charges. He was recently indicted on two counts of tampering with evidence related to Gaitan's death.
However, before investigators got to this point, they had thought the bones in the field could belong to someone else.
"Through the course of his investigation, we discovered that another missing person was out there," said Sgt. Robert Murphy.
Authorities thought it could be Roxanne McGreehan who was reported missing in 2002 near Cibolo Creek. Even though it wasn't her, investigators say it sparked a discovery that pointed to her neighbor.
"Through interviewing a large number of people we were able to obtain an indictment for capital murder against Matthew Engelbrecht," Murphy said.
McGreehan's body was never recovered, but investigators say there was enough for the charges to stick.
"Six months prior he had committed another murder at the same location," said Murphy.
Engelbrecht is already serving time and faces the death penalty or life in prison if convicted in McGreehan's killing.
While it may seem like closure is coming for both of these cases, it's still not clear how Gaitan died and that could change things.
"There is no statute of limitations on murder, so the murder investigation, the potential murder investigation for Sarah Gaitan is still open and pending. We're just looking for that critical piece of evidence or eye witness who knows some sort of detail that would lead us to upgrade that charge," said McBride.
Investigators are always looking for more tips in both cases. Anyone with any information is asked to call 830-379-1224.