California teacher arrested for hiding missing teenager for two years

A California teacher was arrested on Thursday after she hid a teenager who had been reported as missing for almost two years, police claim. 

A Sacramento K-8 public elementary school teacher Holga Castillo Olivares, 61, is accused of concealing the fact that 15-year-old Michael Ramirez was staying at her home despite being reported as a missing person two years earlier. 

The boy’s family filed a missing report on June 9, 2020, after Michael got into an argument with his family about house rules, said the boy’s guardian, Katte Smith. 

“He felt like the grass was greener on the other side,” Smith said.

During the time the boy was missing, police interviewed family and friends and conducted an “extensive search,” but were unable to find him. 

Suddenly, on March 11 of this year, the boy inexplicably returned to his family home, asking to let him move back in. He told his family that he had been staying at the home of Olivares for the two years. 

“You can’t just hide someone’s kid and think that’s OK,” Smith said, adding that she felt “robbed” of time with the boy. 

Olivares was charged last Thursday with detaining a minor with the intent to conceal from a parent and contributing to the delinquency of a child, according to the Rancho Cordova Police Department.

She is being held without bond and is expected to make a court appearance on Monday afternoon.