By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO
kmcneir@afro.com
Officials have announced that the man accused of taking the life of Prince George’s County teen, Dacara Thompson, will be held without bond.
Police have charged Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, 35, of Bowie, with first and second degree murder. According to information released by the Prince George’s County Police Department’s (PGPD) Homicide Unit, on Aug. 23 members of Thompson’s family reported the 19-year-old as missing after she was last seen the night of Aug. 22. Her car was found Aug. 24 with her purse inside. Her phone was gone and disabled. Days later, on Aug. 31, officials reported that a woman’s body was found “in a grassy area off of Route 50 in Anne Arundel County.”
“PGPD Homicide Unit detectives were able to locate additional surveillance video which showed Ms. Thompson approach a black SUV in the early morning hours of August 23, 2025. After speaking to the driver, Ms. Thompson is seen entering the SUV,” PGPD officials said in a statement released on their official Meta social media account. “The driver then drove to a home in the 12000 block of Kembridge Drive in Bowie.”
After obtaining permission to search the property, authorities say “evidence was located suggesting Ms. Thompson had been murdered in a bedroom in the residence. Based on the totality of the evidence of the investigation, detectives arrested and charged Hernandez-Mendez with her murder. The suspect has access to the black SUV and lives in the bedroom where the murder occurred. Detectives are working to determine whether the suspect and victim were known to each other prior to August 23, 2025.”
The death of Thompson has resparked conversations about the lack of media attention given to cases in which Black girls or women are the victims.
One young journalist, a graduate of Clark Atlanta University with over a decade of experience at iHeartRadio, The Black Effect, Revolt TV and The Young Turks Network, is on a mission to change how their stories are told and help to put an end to this vicious cycle through her podcast, “Hunting 4 Answers.”
“Each day, Monday through Friday, we hunt for answers during our crime podcast on cases related to missing Black women and girls – cases not being covered by mainstream media,” said Hunter Gilmore, 29. “And the numbers tell the story – Black women and girls are being ignored, overlooked and forgotten.”
Gilmore said while she’s pleased that the Dacara Thompson case has gained national attention, the opposite tends to be the norm.
“I listened to a press conference recently during which Dacara’s mother spoke and I was quite disturbed,” she said. “Social media has taken this case and people have made comments that disparage the young girl’s character. Her mother said she wishes people would be more cognizant of the pain the family is now enduring. I just think it’s cruel to speculate about her character, but in these cases, Black women are often oversexualized or blamed. No one deserves such a fate.”
According to the FBI National Crime Information Center, Black women and girls accounted for 97,577 of 262,447 missing female entries in 2024 – nearly 37 percent. And in a peer reviewed study in The Lancet Regional Health Americas in February 2024, using CDC data, Black women were found on average six times more likely to be murdered than White women.
“We must do a better job at getting information out to the public as soon as it’s suspected that someone is missing and may be the victim of foul play,” she said. “My podcast presents cases that have gone cold as well as those that are recent. It doesn’t matter. I just want to help families find their loved ones and if someone has been killed, I want to help them get justice. Perhaps that will help them find the closure they need.”
Maryland Governor Wes Moore released a statement on the death of Thompson.
“Our entire state mourns the horrible loss of Dacara Thompson, who was taken from us by an act of senseless violence. Dawn and I join all Marylanders in praying for Dacara and her family in the wake of this tragedy,” said Gov. Moore, in a statement released on Thompson’s death. “Da’Cara raised her hand right out of high school to join our most recent cohort of Maryland Service Year Option members –patriotic Marylanders committed to public service. She yearned to be part of our mission to solve big problems with bold solutions through her passion for the arts.”
Moore continued, stating that Thompson “was a bright light” in Maryland.
“We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure those responsible for this crime are held accountable and honor Dacara’s legacy of service through our unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of all Marylanders,” he said.
As authorities continue to investigate, Gilmore hopes to fill the gap in reporting about such cases.
“It’s hard for me as a Black woman to turn a blind eye about cases like this when it’s clear that we are facing a national epidemic which calls for a nationwide response,” she said. “True crime podcasts are among the most viewed in the U.S., but they fail to adequately focus on Black women and girls.
Gilmore can be reached via email at hunting4answers@moreehunter.com. You can find her podcast at Hunting 4 Answers on I-Heart radio, Apple or Spotify.
