Nearly 17 years after a Rancho Cucamonga house party ended in gunfire, detectives are taking another hard look at who killed 36-year-old Eliseo Salas. On Wednesday, investigators released three composite sketches in a renewed push to crack the 2007 cold-case homicide.
Salas was shot and killed at a large party near London Avenue and Jersey Boulevard in Rancho Cucamonga on July 15, 2007. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a Nixle advisory, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Specialized Investigations Division, Homicide Detail, has reopened the case after "newly obtained evidence" surfaced. Detectives used witness descriptions from that night to build the new sketches.
The advisory lists the case number as DR# 110709143 H#2007-062 and urges anyone with information to call the Specialized Investigations Division at (909) 890-4904 or submit anonymous tips to WeADADADTip.
Three sketches released
The three composite images, attached to the advisory, show three different men based on what witnesses say they saw the night Salas was killed. Investigators have not released any names, possible motives, or other specific leads tied to the faces in the sketches, as reported by CBS Los Angeles.
CBS Los Angeles published the sketches and noted that detectives are still working to identify additional witnesses who attended the party and may remember something that did not seem important at the time.
Why investigators reopened the probe
The Nixle advisory does not spell out what the "newly obtained evidence" is. Officials have not said whether the development involves DNA, fresh witness statements, or another type of lead.
San Bernardino County's cold-case team has, in recent years, leaned on advanced DNA testing and forensic genealogy to shake loose answers from decades-old files. That work has included a 1979 Rancho Cucamonga homicide victim identification announced in 2024, according to the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Those kinds of breakthroughs highlight the tools investigators can now bring to older evidence as they search for new leads.
How to help
Detectives say people who were at the party on July 15, 2007, could hold key details that finally move the case forward, even if they think what they know is minor.
Anyone with information about the killing of Eliseo Salas is asked to contact the Specialized Investigations Division at (909) 890-4904 or call WeADADADTip at 844-909-3006 and reference case H#2007-062.
