HOUSTON -- Police got their first break in the case of 13-year-old Laura Ayala, missing since last March, but they still do not know her whereabouts, News2Houston reported Thursday.

Video

Houston Police Explain DNA Link To Laura Ayala

Houston police said that DNA evidence links Ayala to three suspects in a series of rapes and murders known as the east end murders.

Walter Alexander Sorto, 25, and Edgardo Rafael Cuba, 23, have been charged with three counts of capital murder in the east end murders.

A 15-year-old boy, who was not identified because he is a juvenile, is also a suspect, police said.

"After their arrest, they were also looked at (in) a number of other cases. One of those cases was the disappearance and kidnapping of Laura Ayala," said Lt. Murray Smith, with HPD Homicide.

While investigating the east end murders, detectives found blood, which turned out to be DNA of an unknown female.

Investigators then asked the Ayala family for samples of Laura's DNA.

Two days ago, Ayala's samples were matched to the scene.

"(We're) still trying to find Laura Ayala. She's still missing. It's very depressing news. I should caution you -- it's devastating news to the family. We're still going to keep looking until we recover her," Smith said.

The suspects are not cooperating with investigators, officials said. They have not been charged in connection with Ayala's disappearance.

The suspects were charged with the capital murders of Roxana Capulin, 24, and Maria Rangel, 38, who were found on June. 1. They were also charged in the abduction and murder of Esmeralda Alvarado, 15, whose body was found on Jan. 22, 2002.

Police said that Ayala was abducted some time after 10:15 p.m. Sunday, March 10, behind her family's apartment, located at 7939 Sarita in southeast Houston.

She disappeared after she walked behind her apartment complex to a gas station to buy a newspaper for a school project.

Ayala's mother later found her daughter's shoes along with the newspaper on the street near the gas station. The clerk at the station remembered selling her a newspaper.

Volunteers have searched on foot and horseback in various locations around the Houston area since her disappearance, but have not found any clues.

Police described Ayala as a Hispanic female, 4 feet tall, and weighing about 90 pounds. She has black, medium-length straight hair with brown highlights. She was last seen wearing a blue-checkered dress.

Anyone with information about Ayala's disappearance or whereabouts is asked to call the Houston Police Department's Homicide Division at (713) 308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS.

A $19,000 reward is being offered in the case.