Follow Celeste Rivas Hernandez timeline to her disappearance

Celeste Rivas Hernandez disappeared from Lake Elsinore in April 2025, and the case has resurfaced in national coverage as prosecutors build toward trial. A clear timeline of documented events helps readers separate verified reports from speculation while the legal process continues.

Early family reports

Celeste Rivas Hernandez was born in September 2010 to parents who had immigrated from El Salvador. She grew up in Lake Elsinore with two older siblings and attended Lakeland Village School. The family first contacted Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on February 15, 2024, after she did not return home.

Officers reached D4vd by phone two days later. He told them he last spoke with her on February 13 or 14 and said he had not known she was reported missing or that she was underage. Celeste returned home shortly after that contact, according to later reports.

Two additional missing-person reports followed in March and April 2024. Neighbors later told investigators they had seen her in the neighborhood with family members during the summer and fall of that year, showing the pattern of short absences that preceded her final disappearance.

Pattern of contact

Prosecutors allege that Celeste Rivas Hernandez and D4vd began communicating in late 2023, when she was thirteen. Court filings describe trips together to Las Vegas, London, and Texas, as well as extended stays at his Hollywood Hills rental.

Police records from the February 2024 welfare check already noted repeated phone contact between the two. Those early logs later became part of the broader investigative file that prosecutors used to establish a timeline of alleged travel and overnight stays.

By spring 2024 the family had made three formal reports. Each time Celeste returned home, yet the frequency of absences raised concerns that investigators would revisit once her remains were identified the following year.

Last known movements

Prosecutors state that Celeste Rivas Hernandez was last confirmed alive on April 23, 2025. Court documents allege D4vd arranged an Uber from Lake Elsinore to his Hollywood Hills address that evening, with arrival around 8:40 p.m.

Charging papers claim she was killed shortly after reaching the residence, described by prosecutors as “lying in wait.” Text messages sent from her phone after that hour are cited as possible attempts to mask her whereabouts.

No verified sightings of Celeste Rivas Hernandez occurred after that date. Family members continued routine checks in Lake Elsinore, but official missing-person entries shifted focus once investigators linked the April movements to the later discovery of remains.

Vehicle left behind

The 2023 Tesla Model Y registered to D4vd was parked illegally in the Bird Streets section of the Hollywood Hills. It remained there until it was towed to a city impound lot in the summer of 2025.

Workers at the yard noticed a strong odor coming from the front trunk area on September 8. When they opened the compartment they found two cadaver bags containing badly decomposed remains later identified through forensic examination as Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

Records show the car had last been driven by D4vd around July 29, before he left for tour dates. The discovery inside a vehicle tied directly to him shifted the investigation from a missing-person case into a homicide inquiry.

Body recovery details

Investigators determined the remains had been dismembered, with the head and torso in one bag and the limbs in another. Prosecutors later alleged that body parts had been disposed of near Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County on separate occasions.

The condition of the remains and the location inside the Tesla became central pieces of evidence presented at the preliminary stages of the case. No public statement from the family has addressed these findings beyond a request for privacy.

The September 2025 discovery closed the active search for Celeste Rivas Hernandez and opened the formal criminal investigation that led to an arrest seven months later.

Arrest and charges

D4vd was taken into custody in the Hollywood Hills on April 16, 2026. Four days later he was charged with first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under fourteen, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

He entered a not-guilty plea on April 20. Prosecutors have indicated they may seek the death penalty, citing the alleged motive of silencing the victim over concerns about exposure and career impact.

Evidentiary hearings originally scheduled for spring 2026 were moved to July. Court records show the defense has requested additional time to review the volume of digital and forensic material collected during the investigation.

Media attention spike

The case gained renewed traction in 2026 as court dates approached and new filings entered the public record. Coverage has focused on the documented sequence of events rather than unverified social-media claims that circulated after the September 2025 discovery.

Local outlets in Riverside County and Los Angeles have published timelines drawn from sheriff’s logs and charging documents. National outlets have followed the legal proceedings with less emphasis on Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s personal background and more on the procedural steps ahead.

Public discussion has remained largely centered on verified dates and court statements, reflecting a shift from initial speculation toward scrutiny of the prosecution’s evidence as the trial phase nears.

Family position

Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s relatives have asked for privacy and have not issued detailed public comments since the remains were identified. Their earlier missing-person reports from 2024 now form part of the official record used by prosecutors.

Neighbors who spoke to investigators described a pattern of short absences followed by returns, consistent with the documented reports. Those accounts have not been challenged in court filings released so far.

The family’s limited statements have kept attention on the legal process rather than personal details, a stance that aligns with standard practice in ongoing homicide cases involving minors.

Next procedural steps

The evidentiary hearing reset for July 2026 will determine what evidence can be presented at trial. Both sides continue to review digital records, phone data, and forensic reports tied to the April 2025 timeline.

Additional pretrial motions are expected before any jury selection date is set. Prosecutors have signaled they will rely heavily on the documented sequence of events leading from the 2024 reports to the discovery of remains inside the impounded Tesla.

Case status

The documented timeline of Celeste Rivas Hernandez now stretches from the first missing report in February 2024 through the September 2025 discovery and the 2026 arrest and plea. As the court process moves forward, that sequence remains the clearest record available to the public.