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Husband unknowingly came face-to-face with wife's murder suspect while searching for her, friend says

Authorities are working to identify the fifth suspect in relation to the murder of a taxi driver, mother of two.

GILMER COUNTY, Ga. — The night of April 16, 37-year-old Rossana Delgado, who worked as a taxi driver for One Taxi Services in Gwinnett County, called her husband, Yhony Castro, letting him know she'd be home for dinner after picking up her last rider of the day. 

That time never came.

After multiple failed attempts at reaching his wife, Yhony tried tracking her phone, which friends said led him to two locations: a Public Storage on Covington Highway and a home in Decatur.

According to Rossana's best friend, Jennifer Nuñez, Yhony found a bloody face mask at the Public Storage. Nuñez said police identified the blood as being Rossana's.

Nuñez added that Yhony rang the doorbell at the Decatur home and spoke to 30-year-old Megan Alyssa Colone, one of the murder suspects, without knowing it at the time.

"She pretended like she didn't know what was happening," said Nuñez in a Spanish interview with 11Alive's Paola Suro. "She left running. The family told me she was so fearful that she even left a little girl who was about 1-year-old out there with them."

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Colone goes by the alias Grace Beda.

"I would say there's a close to 100% chance that Rossana was inside that home at that time, and could've been alive," said Nuñez. "If the cops had acted quickly and listened to Yhony, things could've been different."

Nuñez said it's inside Colone's Cherry Log cabin where Rossana's body was found on April 20.

Now, the search continues for the other four people who investigators believe may be tied to the death of the metro Atlanta taxi driver and mother of two.

The GBI also issued murder warrants for 35-year-old Juan Ayala-Rodriguez of Gainesville, 26-year-old Oscar Manuel Garcia of Austell, and 29-year-old Mario Alberto Barbosa-Juarez of Oklahoma City Oklahoma. 

Credit: Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Suspects in death of Rossana Delgado: Oscar Manuel Garcia, left, Megan Alyssa Colone, Mario Alberto Barbosa-Juarez and Juan Ayala-Rodriguez

The GBI, on Sunday, released two photos of a man they believe was also involved in her death. The photos show a man who appears to have a slender build who is wearing jeans, a dark hoodie, and a blue cap that appears to have a white logo on it.

Nuñez added that the family does not know any of them.

Credit: Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Fifth suspect in Rossana Delgado murder investigation

"We need a lot of support so that we can put their faces in every corner of this country - so that they have nowhere to hide and so that they have no peace," she said. "They took our peace."

Investigators also believe they may already be outside of Georgia.

Rossana's 2017 red Ford Focus with license plate RUZ0932 is also still missing. According to the Barrow County Sheriff's Office, the Venezuelan mother drove for One Taxi Services in Gwinnett County.

Anyone with information on the four identified suspects or who may know the fifth is asked to contact the GBI tip line at 1-800-597-8477, visit their online tip website, or download the "See Something, Say Something" App. 

Those who spot the suspects are urged not to approach them but call 911 immediately.

The Venezuelan mother leaves behind her husband, two sons (20-year-old Johan and 16-year-old Juan Manuel), a 1-year-old grandson, and many friends.

Credit: Provided
Rossana Delgado

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