A Gulfport, Miss., man originally from Colorado Springs has been charged with murder in the death of his mother.

Gulfport Police Chief Alan Weatherford said 29-year-old Ryan Allen Abeyta was arrested Wednesday in Semmes, Ala., by the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force.

Weatherford said the search for Abeyta began Tuesday when a warrant was issued for his arrest in the death of his mother. Police say 56-year-old Pamela Santiago, formerly of Colorado Springs, died of strangulation.

Weatherford said investigators believe the woman was killed at home Tuesday and her body was left in a wooded area near the home.

Pamela Santiago, formerly Abeyta, lived in Colorado Springs with her ex-husband Ray Abeyta, a retired School District 11 teacher, and sons Ryan and Brad until 2002. Ray and Brad have traveled to Mississippi to handle the arrangements for Santiago and to support Ryan.

Brad Abeyta called his mother a caring woman who was always willing to step in and act as a surrogate mom for anyone who needed help. She loved Ryan despite his issues with addiction, which is what he believes somehow prompted the attack.

“My mom taught me about God’s unconditional love and how to always be supportive and speak positive out of every outcome,” he said. “She was strong.”

He said he forgives his brother “100 percent” and, if his mother were alive she would be “the first in line” to forgive him.

“When Ryan was Ryan, he had the most wonderful heart,” Brad Abeyta said. Ryan won a Gazette contest for being a good neighbor when he was 9 years old. The elderly couple who lived across the street from him at the time said he was always helping them with odd jobs and coming over to talk.

Brad Abeyta said his brother was probably under the influence of something when the attack happened.

“I hurt for him because I know that he is devastated because he loves his mother,” he said. “I know how much love he has for his mom.”

Barbara Shipe, of Colorado Springs, who said Thursday that she was Santiago’s best friend, remembered Santiago as a “beautiful, compassionate, and loving person.”

Shipe had been close with Santiago since 2005. They met while their husbands were stationed in Korea, Shipe said.

The two women were supposed to meet in Pensacola, Fla., this week to plan their retirement there. In the meantime, Santiago was studying at the University of Phoenix in Gulfport for a degree in medical management.

The friends called each other every day, Shipe said, and the last time they spoke was on Sunday.

Shipe became worried when she couldn’t get a hold of Santiago on Monday. On Tuesday, the day the body was found, Santiago’s son, Ryan, answered her cell phone.

“Ryan said his mother didn’t feel well and that she was sleeping,” Shipe recalled on Thursday.

Shipe said she plans to travel to Mississippi for court proceedings. “We were attached at the hip,” she said.

Weatherford says Abeyta was being held in a Mobile, Ala., jail awaiting extradition to Mississippi.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Gulfport Police gather evidence at the scene where the body of Pamela Santiago was found Tuesday on a path in the woods just off River Road south of Dedeaux Park in Gulfport, Miss. Photo by COURTESY SUNHERALD.COM

Ryan Abeyta Photo by COURTESY SUNHERALD.COM

Pamela Marlene Santiago Photo by COURTESY SUNHERALD.COM