WEST VALLEY CITY — The body of a Colorado teenager believed to have died in a Utah hotel room was found stuffed in a suitcase, according to a newly released search warrant affidavit.

The body of Kelly Myers, 18, of Grand Junction, was discovered Feb. 28 at the Cactus Park hiking area in western Colorado, about 22 miles from Myers' hometown and 300 miles from where police believe she died.

As of Tuesday, West Valley police were calling her death "suspicious" but have not classified it as a homicide. But according to a search warrant obtained by the Deseret News, detectives were looking for "any other fruits or instrumentalities determined to be evidence of the crimes of criminal homicide, kidnapping, obstruction of justice, desecration of a body."

According to warrant affidavit, Myers' body was put inside a suitcase and kept in a West Valley hotel before it was transported to the Cactus Park area. Furthermore, two persons of interest being investigated by police in connection with Myers' disappearance and death have strong drug trafficking ties between Utah and Colorado.

Eduardo De La Cruz, 30, remained in the Mesa County Jail on Tuesday for investigation of conspiracy to distribute heroin. According to The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, De La Cruz was the "alleged ringleader" in a drug trafficking organization, "supplying large quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and prescription narcotics."

As of Tuesday, West Valley police were calling him a "person of interest" in Myers' disappearance and death, but they have not classified him as a "suspect."

De La Cruz has a criminal history in Utah and a last known address in West Valley City. In 2000, he was convicted of aggravated robbery and sentenced to six years to life at the Utah State Prison. An additional charge of attempted murder was dismissed, according to court records. He was also ordered to serve up to five years in prison on a felony drug conviction in 2011, a sentence that was ordered to run concurrently with any other sentence he was serving at that time.

Da La Cruz is also currently a suspect in an unrelated drive-by shooting on Feb. 14 that is being investigated by Unified police. His name surfaced as a possible suspect due to a wiretap investigation being conducted by a task force in Grand Junction regarding Myers' disappearance, according to the affidavit.

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Colorado woman died in Utah hotel, police believe

Police believe an 18-year-old woman found dead in Colorado last month died in a West Valley hotel room. The body of Kelly Myers, of Grand Junction, was discovered Feb. 28 at the Cactus Park hiking area, about 22 miles from Myers' hometown and 300 miles from where police believe she died.

Myers was last seen in Grand Junction on Dec. 18, 2014, when she was reportedly leaving with friends to go to Salt Lake City to celebrate a birthday, according to police. An associate of De La Cruz, Raymond Cordova, picked Myers up at her father's house, the affidavit states.

Myers, a prolific social media user, according to her obituary, last logged into Facebook on Dec. 19, 2014, the search warrant states. According to police, the IP address she used was at the Country Inn and Suites, 3422 S. Decker Lake Drive.

Investigators believe Myers died sometime on Dec. 19 and her "body was loaded into a black suitcase" that had a "hard shell," according to an informant. The suitcase "was then loaded into the back of a small passenger car," the search warrant states.

De La Cruz, 30, had checked into the same hotel as Myers on the day she is believed to have died, according to police.

The informant told investigators that he got into a car with Cordova and "described the vehicle as having a foul odor coming from within." They then drove to Cactus Park, where they disposed of Myers' body, still in the suitcase, the affidavit states.

On Feb. 23, detectives met with the head housekeeper of the Country Inn and Suites. She described "smelling a very strong and pungent smell" coming from the room De La Cruz had rented in December. It was described as "the smell as if someone did not wash their feet or socks for several months," the affidavit states.

The vehicle that was allegedly used to transport Myers' body was recovered in Kearns. On Feb. 24, police used two cadaver dogs at separate times to sniff the vehicle. Both police K-9s "intensely searched the back portion of the vehicle and then indicated positive by final result of sitting," the search warrant says.

Myers' body was located on Feb. 28. Investigators used thumb prints to positively identify her.

The cause of Myers' death had not been released as of Tuesday, nor was a motive if investigators determine her death was the result of a homicide.

Cordova remained in the Mesa County Jail as of Tuesday for investigation of drug-related charges. The Daily Sentinel reported that Myers also had several drug-related arrests in Colorado in 2014 for alleged methamphetamine use.

The Mesa County Sheriff's Office has turned the investigation of her death over to West Valley detectives. Anyone who had contact with Myers while she was in Utah or has information about her is asked to contact West Valley police at 801-840-4000.

Myers was laid to rest in Grand Junction earlier this month. She would have turned 19 on Monday.

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