When a 40-year-old Los Gatos woman went missing for more than a week, her employer started asking questions. That led to a chain of events in which her 56-year-old husband was arrested for murdering her and dumping her body in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The employer of 40-year-old Los Gatos woman YingYing “Dawn” Yu became concerned on January 8 when Yu had not contacted them for more than a week. The Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department (LGMSPD) started asking questions, and KRON4 reports that when they questioned her husband, "what they found was not consistent” with his answers. That police department then recovered evidence related to a domestic violence incident, and arrested the husband, 56-year-old John Maxey Yeager, on January 11 for domestic violence charges.

It gets worse. Acting on information that Yeager had traveled to the remote Summit Road area in the Santa Cruz Mountains early in the new year, police investigated that area. And KTVU reports that police found what they believe were Yu’s remains in the mountains.

And as KTVU’s Henry Lee adds, Yu had filed for divorce from Yeager in 2020.

“We appreciate the assistance, trust and confidence placed in us by Dawn Yu’s community, colleagues and family throughout the investigation and express our deepest condolences to all who knew Dawn Yu,” the LGMSPD said in a statement to KRON4.

We should note that the remains have not yet been confirmed to be Yu’s. That confirmation is still pending from the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner.

But Yeager remains in jail on pending murder charges. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Mike Birley  of the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department at (408) 827-3219.

Related: Human Body Found Crammed in Suitcase Floating in Lake Merritt [SFist]

Image: Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregional Council