Erick Rangel-Ibarra, the man accused of murdering 22-year-old Las Vegas resident Lesly Palacio in 2020, has been extradited from Mexico to Nevada, authorities said Thursday. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service confirmed that Rangel-Ibarra, now 30, was transferred to U.S. custody and booked into the Clark County Detention Center. Palacio was last seen alive on Aug. 29, 2020; her body was discovered 11 days later near Valley of Fire State Park northeast of Las Vegas. Homicide detectives quickly identified Rangel-Ibarra as the prime suspect and obtained a murder warrant, but he remained at large until his arrest in Mexico in July 2024. The extradition, completed nearly five years after Palacio’s disappearance, resolves a lengthy legal process that observers had doubted would succeed because Rangel-Ibarra is a Mexican national. Las Vegas police said further details on the case will be provided in a public briefing. Rangel-Ibarra now faces murder charges in Clark County, marking a significant step toward a long-awaited court proceeding for Palacio’s family.
This news comes one day shy of five years since 22-year-old Lesly Palacio went missing. https://t.co/ipuvtq0qzX
#BREAKING: The suspect wanted for the 2020 murder of Lesly Palacio has been extradited from Mexico to Nevada, local and federal authorities announced today. https://t.co/X1H7AOUIEy
WATCH LIVE: Las Vegas police give an update on the Lesly Palacio murder case. https://t.co/yFJgeYDYOZ