California Teacher Arrested for Hiding a Missing Teenager in Her Home for 2 Years

A California teacher was arrested after being accused of hiding a missing teenager in her home for almost two years.

In a press release, the Rancho Cordova Police Department said 61-year-old Holga Castillo Olivares was arrested on Thursday in connection to the disappearance of Michael Ramirez, who went missing when he was 15, People reported.

Ramirez's family said the teenager was last seen at his home in Rancho Cordova in Sacramento County on May 18, 2020, and he was reported missing on June 9, 2020.

An extensive search launched after Ramirez's disappearance failed to find him. But on March 11 this year, the police department said the missing teenager, now 17, "inexplicably returned home."

Missing Teenager Michael Ramirez's Disappearance

Katte Smith, Michael Ramirez's aunt and legal guardian, said the boy left the house following a heated argument with his parents over house rules and never returned.

"There were some restrictions on him because he broke some rules, and he wasn't happy about that and for him, you know, he ran away. He felt... the grass was greener on the other side," Smith told KCRA.

According to The Guardian, during the period that the teen was missing, authorities spoke to his relatives and friends, including Holga Castillo Olivares, but they could not locate him.

The California teacher reportedly did not say a word to the police even though she let the teenager stay at her house. The boy only returned to the family home last March and begged to move back in.

He informed Smith that he had been staying at the home of Olivares, the mom of one of his friends. Smith said he felt "robbed" of time with the missing teenager.

"You can't just hide someone's kid and think that's OK," Smith noted.

Smith said her husband had a hard time emotionally as he felt like he was a failure since Ramirez is his biological nephew, The Sun reported.

So, when the missing teenager showed up, Smith said, "We just kind of had this dogpile on him and lots of happy tears and just shock and awe." She also said they were "floored" when they heard that the California teacher was arrested.

"We're getting justice, you know, in seeing that someone is being held accountable for doing the wrong thing," she noted.

Olivares' daughter is Ramirez's childhood girlfriend. Olivarez was a teacher at Alice Birney Public Waldorf school in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

California Teacher Charged

Holga Castillo Olivares was charged with detaining a minor with the intent to conceal from a parent and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She has also been put on administrative leave while the school district conducts its own investigation.

According to the Sacramento City Unified School District, the allegations against the California teacher "are for acts unrelated to the employee's assigned duties."

Toronto Sun reported that the district said Olivarez was arrested at the school after classes were over for the day. The California teacher was being held without bond and was expected to make a court appearance on Monday afternoon.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Sacramento City Unified Teacher Arrested in Teen's 2020 Disappearance, Police Say - From KCRA News