(CNN) — Erika Peña is still fearful and shaken days after she managed to escape from the hands of a US Border Patrol supervisor accused of a string of killings in south Texas, her family says. The 26-year-old mother was in a pickup truck with Juan David Ortiz, a 10-year veteran of US Customs and Border Protection, on Friday when he pointed a pistol at her and she struggled with him until she was able to run away and find a state trooper, officials said. “It’s a miracle that she’s alive,” her brother Cesar Alberto Villarreal said. Authorities were able to find Ortiz with Peña’s help and eventually they arrested him in the parking garage of a hotel. But Peña’s family doesn’t want anyone to ignore the trauma she endured. “Yes, to others she is a hero, but it doesn’t take away the fact that she was also a victim in this tragedy. She is a survivor but she is going through serious trauma,” said Peña’s aunt Marcela Rodriguez. Peña has a 5-year-old daughter and has lived in Laredo all her life. She is known for her smile and outgoing personality, her family says, but now, she doesn’t want to be alone and sometimes cries in her sleep. “She’s going to need counseling and help from professionals. She’s still in shock,” Villarreal said. Suspect thought no one would care, family says Rodriguez said they had heard about the case but didn’t know anything about what had happened to Peña when sheriff’s deputies took her home on Saturday. “They brought her home. We didn’t know anything — that she was the one that escaped,” Rodriguez said. Peña’s family believes Ortiz preyed on a vulnerable community. He confessed to killing four women between September 3 and early Saturday, all of whom he picked up in a prostitution hub of Laredo. He has been charged with four counts of murder and one count each of unlawful restraint and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, officials said. “Whatever their job was or whatever they were doing, they’re human beings,” Rodriguez said. “He thought that they don’t have a house to live in, relatives to go to, or that no one was going to look for them. No one would care for them.” On Tuesday, Chief Deputy Federico Garza of the Webb County Sheriff’s Office told reporters that he was not confident that authorities had identified all of Ortiz’s victims. Three of the victims have been identified as Melissa Ramirez, 29, Claudine Luera, 42, and Humberto Ortiz, 28. Humberto Ortiz was a transgender woman, according to police. Ortiz also went by the name Janelle, a spokesperson with the Webb County district attorney said. CNN is attempting to confirm the victim’s preferred name and pronoun. Authorities are not releasing the name of the fourth victim until her relatives have been notified. The family plans to move forward by finding medical care for Peña. They also intend to hire a lawyer. The family declined to specify what kind of legal action they plan to take. CNN’s Nicole Chavez contributed to this report.<doc-sep>A U.S. Border Patrol agent was arrested Saturday in Texas on suspicion that he killed four women and prosecutors are describing him as a serial killer. The agent, Juan David Ortiz, is a supervisor for the Border Patrol. He fled into a hotel parking lot in Laredo, Texas after he fled from state troopers but was located and arrested early Saturday morning. “The county, the city can rest assured we have the serial killer in custody,” said Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar. Journalist Valerie Gonzalez wrote on Twitter that Ortiz “confessed to all four homicides.” She later posted a statement from the Webb Conty Sheriff’s Office that describes Ortiz as a 10-year Border Patrol veteran. Advertisement Update: Juan David Ortiz confessed to all four homicides. He is a nine-year veteran of Border Patrol, according to Webb County DA. Still waiting on statement from BP. This would be the second homicide investigation in Webb involving a border patrol agent from the Laredo sector. pic.twitter.com/3digC0mmq2 — Valerie Gonzalez (@ValOnTheBorder) September 15, 2018 Advertisement Advertisement From Webb County Sheriff’s Office regarding killing spree that ended with BP agent’s arrest: pic.twitter.com/ZLlm9yaZvX — Valerie Gonzalez (@ValOnTheBorder) September 15, 2018 Advertisement Although most say all four of the victims were women, CNN reports that “the bodies of three females and one male were found over the last two weeks.” Authorities say they have “very strong evidence” that Ortiz was the one who killed four prostitutes and he is believed to have acted alone. Authorities were able to locate Ortiz after a fifth woman apparently managed to escape and notify law enforcement officers. The county’s district attorney, Isidro Alaniz, said Ortiz will be charged with four counts of murder and one count of aggravated kidnapping. The motives for the suspected killings are not clear.<doc-sep>(CNN) — Police say they have a confession from a Texas Border Patrol agent they suspect of being a serial killer, but many loose ends and questions remain – chiefly, whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty. It could take as long as 90 days to determine whether prosecutors will pursue capital murder charges against Juan David Ortiz, 35, accused of killing four women in and around the border town of Laredo, Texas, Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz said during a Monday news conference. Another loose end: Are there more victims? Webb County Sheriff Melissa Ramirez, 29, was the first victim linked to Juan David Ortiz, police say. Asked by a reporter if he was certain they had identified all of Ortiz’s victims, Chief Deputy Federico Garza of the Webb County Sheriff’s Office replied, “We’re not confident (of) that, sir.” He added, “We will do historical research everywhere that he has been to see if we have a pattern of victims.” Garza provided additional details about what happened after would-be victim Erika Pena escaped Ortiz, who was holding her at gunpoint, and ran to a state trooper who was fueling up at a nearby gas station – essentially cracking the case for police. Webb County Sheriff Claudine Anne Luera, 42, was killed after growing suspicious of Ortiz, police say. Ortiz, a supervisory Border Patrol agent with access to U.S. Customs and Border Protection intelligence, went home after Pena jumped out of his truck around 9:14 p.m. Friday, and Garza said he was ready for a showdown. He had numerous weapons at his home in north Laredo, the chief deputy said. Pena’s family: ‘She’s still in shock’ “He was loading up all those weapons thinking that the (state troopers were) going to confront him and he was looking at a confrontation,” Garza said. “Thank God that didn’t happen.” Ortiz also posted goodbye messages to his family after Pena escaped, telling his wife and kids he loved them and “Doc Ortiz checks out. Farewell,” said Yanira de Leon, a spokeswoman for the Webb County District Attorney’s Office. Aguero Funeral Home, Crematorium Ricky Janelle Ortiz was one of the victims killed after Erika Pena made her escape, police say. Roughly three hours after Pena’s escape, law enforcement officers were alerted to be on the lookout for Ortiz, and it took another hour before state troopers first encountered him. In that time, he killed two more victims, according to a police affidavit. When the troopers found his truck at a gas station in Laredo, Ortiz had gone inside to use the restroom, Garza said. He had left a gun in his vehicle. Troopers confronted him and one tried to deploy a Taser on Ortiz, but he escaped. From there, he ran to Hotel Ava, formerly a Ramada Inn, and hid in the hotel’s parking garage. When a Webb County SWAT team and state troopers found him around 2:34 a.m. Saturday, Ortiz appeared ready to die, Garza said. “He was trying to commit suicide by cop,” he said. “He was going to try to use his phone to make it look like it was a weapon.” 02:49 - Source: CNN Authorities: Border agent who killed 4 women knew victims Police weren’t fooled and took him into custody, where he gave a verbal confession to killing four women between September 3 and early Saturday, all of whom he picked up in a prostitution hub of Laredo, authorities said. He selected the women, who he knew, based on their vulnerability and “the dislike that he had for this community of people,” Garza said. “At one point, Ortiz was able to gain their trust and viciously shot them,” he said. Garza identified three victims as Melissa Ramirez, 29, Claudine Luera, 42, and Ricky Janelle Ortiz, 28. Janelle Ortiz was a transgender woman, according to police and the funeral home handling her burial. On Wednesday, authorities released the name of the fourth victim: 35-year-old Griselda Alicia Hernandez Cantu, who was also known as Guiselda Alicia Hernandez. She was identified following an autopsy. The discovery of her body on Interstate Highway 35 early Saturday was reported to the Webb County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating along with the Texas Ranger Division, authorities said.<doc-sep>
A U.S. Border Patrol agent is suspected of being a serial killer after he was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping in rural Webb County, Texas, authorities announced Saturday. Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar said at a news conference that Juan David Ortiz was booked Saturday morning after a woman he allegedly attempted to kidnap Friday escaped and went to law enforcement. He said authorities believe Ortiz is behind the murder of four women in a nearly two-week span. "We have very strong evidence that he is the person that’s been killing," the sheriff said. Starting nearly two weeks ago, local investigators were trying to find a killer of women whose bodies were found in the border county that abuts the Rio Grande. A woman described by authorities as a "second victim" was found Thursday "with head trauma injury" off state highway 255, according to a statement from Texas Rangers. She was identified as Claudine Anne Luera, 42, of Laredo, Texas. A third body was found Saturday morning, then a fourth was found just after noon along the a highway north of Laredo, NBC News affiliate KGNS reported. Details on the other victims weren't immediately available from a Rangers spokesman. The women were sex workers whom the agent had allegedly "picked up," KGNS reported, citing Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz. Officials don't believe there are other victims. It's not clear if they think the suspect was on-duty at the time of the alleged killings. U.S. Customs and Border Protection assistant commissioner for public affairs Andrew Meehan said in a statement that Ortiz is a supervisory agent. "There are charges pending related to multiple homicides in the Laredo area," he said. He did not discuss if the agency has taken disciplinary action but said CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility was cooperating with investigators. "While it is CBP policy to not comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, criminal action by our employees is not, and will not be tolerated," Meehan said. NBC News reached out to the Webb County public defender's office and did not get a response on whether Ortiz has legal representation. Cuellar said Ortiz is a 10-year veteran with Border Patrol. He was detained overnight Friday before being formally arrested in connection with the alleged kidnapping, the sheriff, speaking at a news conference, said. District Attorney Alaniz told reporters, "There is probable cause that this individual is responsible for this series of murders which qualify as a serial murder [case]." Jail records show he was charged with four counts of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and other crimes. He was being held in lieu of $2.5 million bond. The investigation was undertaken jointly by the Rangers and the Webb County Sheriff's Office, said Rangers Staff Sgt. Erick Estrada.