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Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvardo 'Found Dead' After Vanishing Before Pageant

Miss World Competitor Due To Compete In London 'Found Dead'
Jack Sommers
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A teenager who was crowned Miss Honduras and was due to compete for the title of Miss World in London before disappearing, has reportedly been found dead.

Maria Jose Alvardo, 19, was due to fly to Britain for the event on Sunday.

But she and her sister Sofia, 23, vanished on November 13 after attending a birthday party. Their bodies were found buried near the spa where they were last seen, Honduras Police said on Wednesday. Sofia's boyfriend, Plutarco Ruiz, has been arrested for kidnapping.

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Maria Jose Alvardo, aka Miss Honduras, has been found dead

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The sisters had both been shot to death. Authorities are awaiting confirmation from forensics teams that the bodies belong to the two women.

Ruiz was arrested alongside another man, Aris Maldonado, police said.

Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado
(01 of11)
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National Police agents detain Aris Valentin Maldonado, who is suspect in the kidnapping of Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado, in Santa Barbara, 200 kms north of Tegucigalpa, on November 18, 2014. Alvarado, 19, and her sister Sofia Trinidad disappeared on November 13th outside of Santa Barbara after a birthday party at a local resort, only days before she was to compete in the Miss World contest. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(02 of11)
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National Police agents detain Aris Valentin Maldonado (R), a suspect in the kidnapping of Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado, in Santa Barbara, 200 kms north of Tegucigalpa, on November 18, 2014. Alvarado, 19, and her sister Sofia Trinidad disappeared on November 13th outside of Santa Barbara after a birthday party at a local resort, only days before she was to compete in the Miss World contest. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(03 of11)
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National Police agents escort Plutarco Antonio Ruiz, the boyfriend of Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado's sister, in Santa Barbara, 200 kms north of Tegucigalpa, on November 18, 2014. Antonio Ruiz is now being held as a central figure in the kidnapping of Alvarado, 19, and her sister Sofia Trinidad, who disappeared November 13th outside Santa Barbara after a birthday party at a local resort, only days before she was to compete in the Miss World contest. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(04 of11)
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National Police agents escort Plutarco Antonio Ruiz (2nd-L), the boyfriend of Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado's sister, in Santa Barbara, 200 kms north of Tegucigalpa, on November 18, 2014. Antonio Ruiz is now being held as a central figure in the kidnapping of Alvarado, 19, and her sister Sofia Trinidad, who disappeared November 13th outside Santa Barbara after a birthday party at a local resort, only days before she was to compete in the Miss World contest. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(05 of11)
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In this April 26, 2014 photo, Maria Jose Alvarado is crowned the new Miss Honduras in San Pedro, Sula, Honduras. Alvarado, and her sister Sofia disappeared after attending a birthday party in Western Honduras on Thursday Nov. 13, but authorities were not notified until the weekend. The 19-year-old beauty queen was expected to attend the Miss World pageant in Britain this December. (AP Photo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(06 of11)
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People demand the freeing of Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado on November 18, 2014 in Santa Barbara, 200 kms north of Tegucigalpa. Officials arrested a suspect in the disappearance of the reigning Miss Honduras, whose sister's boyfriend is now also being held as a central figure in the kidnapping. Alvarado, 19, and her sister Sofia Trinidad disappeared on November 13th outside of Santa Barbara after a birthday party at a local resort, only days before she was to compete in the Miss World contest. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(07 of11)
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(FILES) Undated picture taken in San Pedro Sula of Maria Jose Alvarado (R), Miss Honduras World, whose body and her sister's were found on November 19, 2014 one week after both siblings had been abducted. The bodies of Maria Jose Alvarado, 19, and her sister Sofia Trinidad Hernandez were found on the banks of a river in the west of Honduras on November 19, 2014 and their presumed killer was arrested, police reported AFP PHOTO/STR MAXIMUM QUALITY AVAILABLE (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(08 of11)
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People demand the freeing of Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado on November 18, 2014 in Santa Barbara, 200 kms north of Tegucigalpa. Officials arrested a suspect in the disappearance of the reigning Miss Honduras, whose sister's boyfriend is now also being held as a central figure in the kidnapping. Alvarado, 19, and her sister Sofia Trinidad disappeared on November 13th outside of Santa Barbara after a birthday party at a local resort, only days before she was to compete in the Miss World contest. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(09 of11)
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People demand the freeing of Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado on November 18, 2014 in Santa Barbara, 200 kms north of Tegucigalpa. Officials arrested a suspect in the disappearance of the reigning Miss Honduras, whose sister's boyfriend is now also being held as a central figure in the kidnapping. Alvarado, 19, and her sister Sofia Trinidad disappeared on November 13th outside of Santa Barbara after a birthday party at a local resort, only days before she was to compete in the Miss World contest. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(10 of11)
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(FILES): This recent undated file photo shows Maria Jose Alvarado, Miss Honduras World 2014, , who police in Tegucigalpa have confirmed is missing November 16, 2014. Maria Jose and one of her sisters identified as Sofia Trinidad Alvarado have not been seen since November 13th after attending a birthday party celebrated in the department of Santa Barbara in northern Honduras. Once a model in a local television show, Maria Jose was chosen Miss Honduras World 2014 in April. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(11 of11)
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(FILES): This recent undated file photo shows Maria Jose Alvarado, Miss Honduras World 2014, , who police in Tegucigalpa have confirmed is missing November 16, 2014. Maria Jose and one of her sisters identified as Sofia Trinidad Alvarado have not been seen since November 13th after attending a birthday party celebrated in the department of Santa Barbara in northern Honduras. Once a model in a local television show, Maria Jose was chosen Miss Honduras World 2014 in April. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)

The sisters were last seen on Thursday in a spa in Santa Barbara, about 240 miles west of the capital Tegucigalpa, where they had gone to celebrate Ruiz's birthday.

Alvarado, 19, was crowned Miss Honduras in April and was expected to compete in the Miss World Pageant in London next month.

Police said Ruiz led them to the bodies. He and his alleged accomplice are being questioned.

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"Both are being questioned as part of the investigation into the disappearance of [Ms Alvarado] and her sister," police spokesman Jose Coello told the BBC.

"We hope to establish what role they may have played."

Shortly after the pair's arrest, it was still being reported that hopes of finding them alive were high.

“Nobody has asked for a ransom for their liberation and there have been no bodies found,” Inspector Vicente Reyes told The Guardian. “These are strong signs that they are still alive.”

On November 18, a demonstration was held for the sisters in Santa Barbara, calling for their release.

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