SAN ANTONIO — A 24-year-old man was arrested in connection with the disposal of a body in a 2019 cold case, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said.

According to Sheriff Javier Salazar, Joey Emiliano Tovar Vargas was arrested earlier this week at his home on Brighton Street on the city’s South Side. He was booked on a second-degree felony charge of tampering with evidence involving a corpse and an unrelated human smuggling warrant from another county.

The case involves Megan Gonzales, 20, whose body was found Dec. 3, 2019, in the 12,000 block of Wisdom Road in southwest Bexar County. Her body had been burned and was wrapped in a blanket, Salazar said.

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Megan was last seen alive with Vargas and in her vehicle around Nov. 11, 2019. She was reported missing four days later.

Investigators found her truck on Dec. 2 in the 5300 block of Northwest Loop 410. Investigators found blood in the truck bed that DNA testing linked to Megan, according to Salazar.

The sheriff’s office had previously considered Vargas a suspect but said investigators lacked enough evidence to make an arrest.

In 2025, the office’s cold case team analyzed data from his cellphone, Salazar said.

Investigators said cellphone records placed Vargas near locations where Megan’s belongings and truck were found. The phone also contained searches about fingerprints and deleting social media, as well as photos showing a distinctive blanket similar to the one found with Megan’s body, Salazar said.

A witness also told investigators that Vargas asked for help moving a body, and witnesses reported seeing him dump evidence after Megan disappeared, Salazar said.

Salazar said investigators believe Megan was killed soon after she disappeared, but it remains unclear where she was between her disappearance and the discovery of her body.

Investigators said Vargas is also suspected in domestic violence incidents involving three other women. Salazar said there is no known history of domestic violence between Tovar Vargas and Megan.

Anyone with information about the case can contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at 210-335-6000, email tips@bexar.org, or submit a tip through the sheriff’s office app.