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Missing Teen: Sierra Lamar - CA - 03/16/2012


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#1 Lori Davis

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Posted 17 March 2012 - 10:36 AM

http://www.ktvu.com/...ing-teen/nLWgf/

Santa Clara Sheriff's Dept. searching for missing teen

Posted: 9:59 a.m. Saturday, March 17, 2012

Posted Image
Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department
Sierra Lamar, missing teen

KTVU.com

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. — A search underway was underway in Santa Clara County Saturday morning for a15 year old girl who went missing the day before.
Sierra Lamar was last seen at 6 a.m. morning on Dorothy Avenue near San Jose heading to school, but she never made it there, according to Sgt. Jose Cardoza, spokesperson for the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department.

Cardoza said that the department was especially concerned with her disappearance because Lamar does not have a history of running away.

Lamar was described as being 5 feet 2 inches tall, with a thin build. She was last seen with a black and pink Juicy-brand purse.

Anyone with information on this case was asked to contact Santa Clara County Communications at (408) 299-2311. During normal business hours please call Sheriff's Investigators at (408) 808-4500 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431.

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#2 Lori Davis

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Posted 17 March 2012 - 10:51 AM

http://www.mercuryne...organ-hill-girl

Authorities searching for missing Morgan Hill girl, 15

By Chris De Benedetti
San Jose Mercury News
Posted:   03/17/2012 10:25:55 AM PDT
Updated:   03/17/2012 11:23:05 AM PDT

Authorities are looking for a 15-year-old Morgan Hill girl reported missing since Friday morning, a Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office spokesman said.

Sierra Lamar, a resident of an unincorporated area near Morgan Hill, was last seen about 6 a.m. when she left her home near the intersection of Dougherty and Palm avenues, west of Monterey Highway, Sgt. Jose Cardoza said.

That is the usual time that Sierra leaves each morning to travel to Sobrato High School, where she is a 10th-grade student, Cardoza said.

But she did not show up to school and did not come home Friday, and her family called authorities, he said.

Police described Sierra as a teen girl, 5-foot-2, with a thin build, olive complexion and long dark hair.

Police did not provide a clothing description but said she was last seen carrying a purse with a black-and-pink design with the brand name, "Juicy," written on it.

Authorities said the girl does not have a history of running away from home.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts can call the Sheriff's Office at 408-299-2311 or 408-808-4500, or the anonymous tip line at 408-808-4431.

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#3 Lori Davis

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Posted 24 March 2012 - 02:37 PM

http://www.cbsnews.c...a-lamars-purse/

Calif. police find missing teen Sierra Lamar's purse
By Crimesider Staff
March 23, 2012 9:39 AM

(CBS/AP) MORGAN HILL, Calif. - Authorities searching for a missing Northern California teenager say they found her bag with clothing inside near an intersection two miles from her home.

Photos: Calif. teen goes missing on walk to school bus

Police discovered 15-year-old Sierra Lamar's belongings on Sunday, a day after investigators found her cellphone on the side of the road. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. Jose Cardoza says police didn't release the information until Thursday because they had to confirm the bag belonged to the teen.

CBS San Francisco reports the bag contained a neatly folded pair of pants and a t-shirt, the sheriff's office said Thursday. Cardoza says the evidence provided no clues about whether Sierra was abducted or ran away.

Her cellphone, found intact in a field near the house on Monday, has not yielded any clues to her whereabouts. It has since been submitted to the Santa Clara County Crime Lab for further testing.

An FBI spokesman confirmed Monday that federal agents were also helping with the investigation.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team was ordered to visit all registered sex offenders in the area. The girl's father, Steve Lamar, is a registered sex offender who lives in Fremont. Investigators said they do not consider him a suspect in Sierra's disappearance.

Sierra was last seen heading out of her Morgan Hill home to get to school last Friday morning. Her family and friends held candlelight vigils for her this week.

There has been no evidence of foul play uncovered in the investigation thus far.

Interviews with her family and students at Ann Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill and Washington High School in Fremont have not uncovered any evidence suggesting Sierra was unhappy at home or that she ran away.

Anyone with information about Sierra or her whereabouts is asked to contact Santa Clara County Communications at (408) 299-2311. During business hours, tipsters can call sheriff's investigators at (408) 808-4500 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431.

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#4 Lori Davis

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Posted 24 March 2012 - 02:38 PM

http://abclocal.go.c..._bay&id=8591051

Investigators find bag belonging to Sierra LaMar

Friday, March 23, 2012
Karina Rusk

MORGAN HILL, Calif. (KGO) -- Search teams looking for a missing Morgan Hill teenager announced Thursday that they have found some of her clothes. The sheriff's office confirmed that a bag found Sunday belongs to 15-year-old Sierra LaMar who has been missing for six days now.

The sheriff's office says it withheld the information until it could confirm that the bag and the clothes belonged to Sierra. They say DNA analysis of the items did not reveal any DNA or trace evidence that could point them to a suspect or person of interest.

Search and rescue teams are spread out over a three-mile radius from Sierra's rural Morgan Hill home. The intense effort follows the new discovery. Volunteer searchers found her pink and black Juicy brand purse with a pair of pants, tee-shirt, and undergarments inside. "The clothing was neatly folded inside her Juicy bag. What we do not know at this point is if she was wearing that particular set of clothes when she left the house or if it was extra clothing that she packed," Sgt. Jose Cardoza with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said.

For Sierra's family, the developments are far from comforting.

"It doesn't necessarily point to either direction you know, whether she planned to run away or she was abducted or taken against her will," Sierra's father, Steve LaMar said.

"Each thing we are finding it gets scarier because she wouldn't purposely leave that stuff behind, so obviously there's more anxiety for us," Sierra's sister, Danielle LaMar said.

Sheriff Laurie Smith says her office is working with several known facts about Sierra's sudden disappearance Friday morning. The 15-year-old sent out a tweet from her home computer at 6:29 that morning. It was learned Thursday that she sent a text from her cellphone to a friend at 7:11 a.m. "She usually leaves for school between 7:10 and 7:15, so we don't know where her physical location was at the time. She texted a friend, a friend answered, and no further," Smith said.

So, Sierra usually leaves her house to catch the school bus at 7:25 a.m. Her cellphone was found Saturday 20 to 30 feet off the road at an intersection in the opposite direction of the bus. On Sunday, a trained search member found her purse with the clothing even further north near the intersection of Laguna and Santa Teresa.

Now, some 40 search and rescue personal and five trained dogs are looking for more evidence and are scouring outbuildings and abandoned structures. "They become places where you can hide something, where you can place it out of sight from the public, and so we have to check for that," explained searcher Jeff Thomas. "Even no result is a result. It tells us something about where she isn't and that allows us to move on to other places to continue to look."

So far, Sierra's disappearance is still classified as a missing person's case. "All cards are still on the table, possible abduction, human trafficking, voluntary runaway... We just don't know and we cannot confirm simply until we get information or evidence to prove otherwise," Cardoza said.

Cardoza also confirmed that the FBI is assisting in the case, but would not elaborate on specifically what role the agency is playing.

The sheriff's department says another search is tentatively scheduled for Saturday.

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#5 Lori Davis

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Posted 24 March 2012 - 02:39 PM

http://abcnews.go.co...67#.T25MZGES2Qw

Sierra Lamar: Friends, Family Hold Vigil For Missing California Teen

By ALYSSA NEWCOMB
March 24, 2012

After a week of few leads and dashed hopes, missing teen Sierra LaMar's family, friends and classmates gathered at a candlelight vigil for the Morgan Hill, Calif., girl who has been missing for nine days.

"We want you to come back home. We know you will find your way back to us," Sierra's mother, Marlene LaMar, said among the flickering candles and teary-eyed supporters Friday.

The FBI set up a roadblock where LaMar would usually board her bus and is stopping drivers who pass through, hoping someone will provide a clue that could help bring Sierra home.

Marlene LaMar said Sierra's bus driver told her she never boarded the bus the day she disappeared.

Marc Klaas, whose daughter Polly was kidnapped and murdered in 1994, is also on the case and has helped LaMar set up a search center.

The 15-year-old was last seen on March 16 as she headed off to school from her Morgan Hill home.

Police found a bag belonging to the teen two days later, discarded near an intersection close to her home.

Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. Jose Cardoza said her Juicy brand bag contained a neatly folded pair of pants and a T-shirt, but that the evidence provided no clues about whether Sierra was abducted or ran away.

Cardoza said police were treating her disappearance as a missing person's case. "There is no information leading us to believe she purposely ran away," he said. "On the other hand, we don't have information or evidence associating a crime with her being missing."

Investigators found Sierra's cell phone on the side of a road in the opposite direction of her bus stop a day after her disappearance. The charger for the teen's cell phone was found in her room at home, and the phone looked as if it had been tossed.

Authorities said the phone yielded no clues, nor did investigators find any helpful clues on her computer.

"I can't imagine Sierra without her cell phone," her mother said. "That's when it became a harsh reality."

Sierra's father, Steve LaMar, said he had no reason to believe Sierra was planning to run away.

He talked to her the day before she was reported missing, and she was "happy, talking to me about homework.

"She was asking me to make an appointment so she could dye her hair," Steve LaMar said. "She wouldn't miss that appointment — if you knew my daughter."

Sierra LaMar's parents reached out to her friends, and grew more anxious when one friend said she wasn't in class earlier that day.

They decided to contact authorities around 5 p.m., after her high school sent them an email saying Sierra hadn't shown up for school that day.

Sierra LaMar's parents are divorced, and she lived with her father in Fremont, Calif., until October, when she moved in with her mother and transferred to Sobrata High School in Morgan Hills.

ABC News has learned that Steve LaMar is a registered sex offender and is currently on probation for committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age. Police have emphasized that Steve LaMar is not a suspect in the investigation.

Police have questioned students at both Sierra's current high school and the previous school she attended in Fremont, Cardoza said. They have interviewed more than 100 people and have broadened the investigation to include all known sex offenders in the immediate and broader area of the teen's home.

But for now, it's a race against time and friends and family can only hope for the best but admit they fear the worst.

"It's been so long, every day we wonder if she's ok," friend Shanice Washington said. "Everyday it gets harder."

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#6 Lori Davis

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Posted 24 March 2012 - 05:34 PM

http://www.insidebay...mar-morgan-hill

Huge search for missing Morgan Hill girl yields no new clues

By Chris De Benedetti
San Jose Mercury News
Posted:  03/24/2012 05:57:01 PM PDT
Updated:  03/24/2012 05:58:41 PM PDT

More than 100 members of Bay Area search-and-rescue teams scoured a 12-mile radius Saturday, but no new clues were discovered in the search for Sierra LaMar, the missing 15-year-old Morgan Hill girl.

It was the largest search effort since the former Fremont resident went missing more than a week ago, according to Sgt. Jose Cardoza, spokesman for the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's search-team members from Santa Clara, Marin, Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties braved the rain from 10 a.m. to dusk and searched an area that stretched from the San Jose-Morgan Hill border to Hecker Pass, Cardoza said.

"We expanded our search," he said. "This is the most personnel we've used and the farthest we've gone."

Sierra's family and friends say they're refusing to give up hope. They attended a candlelight vigil Friday night at Fremont's Washington High School, which Sierra attended before moving to Morgan Hill last October.

FBI agents have been assisting sheriff's deputies with the investigation the past few days, re-canvassing the area and searching the home of Marlene LaMar, Sierra's mother, with her consent, according to the sheriff's office.

Perhaps the case's biggest clue thus far was found last Sunday, when investigators discovered Sierra's Juicy-brand bag at Santa Teresa Boulevard and Laguna Avenue in Morgan Hill.

Inside the bag was a neatly folded T-shirt with a San Jose Sharks logo. It was found about a mile north from where police found her cell phone on March 17.

Sierra has been missing since the morning of March 16, when she left home to catch a school bus at Dougherty and Palm avenues, authorities said.

The last communication from Sierra was a text message sent to a friend at 7:11 a.m., or nine minutes before she was supposed to reach the bus stop, according to the sheriff's office.

When Sierra did not arrive that day at Sobrato High School, where she is a 10th-grade student, her family called police.

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#7 Lori Davis

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Posted 26 March 2012 - 05:55 AM

http://today.msnbc.m...e/#.T3B0vmES2Qw

Father of missing California teen is ‘desperate for any clue’
The search for Sierra LaMar continues after her clothing was found


By Jillian Eugenios
TODAY.com contributor
updated 03/26/2012

The search for missing Morgan Hill, Calif. teen Sierra LaMar continued over the weekend, and in a report airing Monday, her father, Steve LaMar, told NBC’s Kristen Dahlgren: “I’m desperate right now. I’m desperate for any, any clue.”

The 15-year-old has been missing since Friday, March 16, when she left her home to catch the school bus but never arrived at school.

‘There’s got to be more’

The weekend saw an influx of additional help, with law enforcement coming from other counties. About 90 personnel and several search dogs combed a 12-mile radius of the community.
The LaMar family has been leading the search. Steve LaMar combed the canyons around Morgan Hill as he spoke about his pain of looking for his daughter.

So far, the only pieces of evidence found have been Sierra’s cell phone and her Juicy purse, found alongside the road just miles from her home with her clothes folded neatly inside. Authorities believe they are the same clothes Sierra was wearing in a picture she took the morning she disappeared.

“There’s got to be more,” LaMar said. “I’m just desperate.”

As part of the search, investigators have questioned registered sex offenders in the area. Though Sierra’s father is a registered sex offender, officials insist he is not a person of interest.
LaMar has previously acknowledged his background, and has asked that attention not be shifted away from the investigation because of it.

It has now been 10 days since the teen was last seen, and her family fears the worst. “You do go there,” LaMar acknowledged. “It’s natural. I have nightmares every night.”

The county crime lab has been analyzing the recovered cell phone and clothes, hoping more information can be gathered. The FBI also searched Sierra’s mother’s house, which is where she was last seen. Marlene LaMar, Sierra’s mother, said, "It gets harder and harder but we're hanging in there. We're not giving up.”

As the family searches, vigils have been held, including one over the weekend. Supporters and friends lit candles and said prayers while wearing red Chuck Taylor shoes, the kind Sierra liked to wear.

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#8 Lori Davis

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Posted 26 March 2012 - 06:40 AM

http://missingkids.c...earchLang=en_US

Endangered Missing

SIERRA LAMAR
Posted Image
DOB:  Oct 19, 1996
Missing:  Mar 16, 2012
Height:  5'2" (157cm)
Eyes:  Brown
Race:  White
Age at time of disappearance:  15
Sex:  Female
Weight:  110lbs (50kg)
Hair:  Brown
Missing From:
MORGAN HILL
CA
United States

Sierra was last seen leaving her home on her way to school, but she never arrived. When Sierra was last seen, her hair was dyed black.

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)
Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office (California) 1-408-299-3233

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#9 Lori Davis

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Posted 31 March 2012 - 06:10 PM

http://abclocal.go.c..._bay&id=8603026

Huge volunteer turnout for search for Sierra

Friday, March 30, 2012
by Tomas Roman

MORGAN HILL, Calif. (KGO) -- Despite the rain, hundreds of volunteers turned out Saturday to search for Sierra LaMar.

Nothing new was discovered during Saturday's search, which centered in a remote area of San Jose northwest of Morgan Hill.

Search organizer Brian Miller said volunteer turnout was strong despite the weather.

"Today was a rainy day but we were still very happy with today. We had almost 500 new first-time searchers today and we had almost 600 total searchers today."
To have so many people show up on a rainy mornings is a good sign, Miller said.

"I think that puts us in a good position moving forward," he said.

Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies used off-road vehicles Saturday to comb areas in the West Hills, including the South Coyote Creek Trail.

Search efforts have been expanding around the area where Sierra disappeared on her way to school on March 16.

Items belonging to Sierra have been found, including a cell phone, purse and some clothing. On Thursday, one volunteer found a box that said "Stainless Steel Handcuffs" on the side and contained used condoms.

The items were found less than two miles from where Sierra disappeared. The sheriff's office called the items "suspicious" and will test them. Whether they have anything to do with her disappearance or not remains to be seen and won't be known for at least a few weeks.

Searchers will be out again Sunday rain or shine. On Sunday the search will be expanded to around 15 miles around the area where Sierra disappeared.

For those interested in participating in the search, the headquarters is the old Burnett Elementary School in Morgan Hill. The first shifts of searchers begin going out at 8 a.m., but volunteers can arrive later than that.

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#10 Lori Davis

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Posted 12 April 2012 - 02:44 PM

http://www.cbsnews.c...-of-reservoirs/

Missing teen Sierra LaMar Update: Police review underwater images of reservoirs
By Crimesider Staff Topics Daily Blotter
April 12, 2012 4:20 PM

Posted Image
Sierra Lamar, 15 (Credit: Personal Photo)

(CBS) SAN JOSE - Police are reviewing sonar images taken from local reservoirs as the search continues for missing California teen Sierra LaMar.
Photos: Calif. teen goes missing on walk to school bus

CBS San Francisco reports that LaMar, 15, was last seen the morning of March 16, on her way to a school bus stop.

Earlier this week, sheriff's officials took sonar images of Chesbro and Uvas reservoirs. The department plans to send out divers later in the week to investigate any suspicious objects they may find.

Volunteers gathered Wednesday for another day of searching at Burnett Elementary School. According to search director Brian Miller, volunteers are looking in areas previously unsearched.

LaMar has been missing for over three weeks, but her mother Marlene said she is trying to stay optimistic.

"I'm not going to give up," said Marlene LaMar. "I am determined, and the determination is what's giving me the energy to continue. The public is as well. People are coming back for a third and fourth time. I'm truly astounded."

KCBS reports that about 3,500 people have helped in the search since LaMar disappeared.

There is currently no named person of interest in the case and police are still treating it as a missing person case.

Anyone with information about Sierra or her whereabouts is asked to contact Santa Clara County Communications at (408) 299-2311. During business hours, tipsters can call sheriff's investigators at (408) 808-4500 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431.

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#11 Lori Davis

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Posted 14 April 2012 - 08:35 AM

https://www.findthem...ases/show/14258
NamUs profile for Sierra Lamar - Case 14258

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#12 Lori Davis

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Posted 22 April 2012 - 08:56 AM

http://www.ktvu.com/...erra-lam/nMfWF/

Volunteers search rough terrain looking for Sierra LaMar

Posted: 10:02 p.m. Saturday, April 21, 2012

MORGAN HILL, Calif. — Volunteers fanned out in Santa Clara Saturday in another search for missing Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar.

Peggy Thompson of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office sloshed through Coyote Creek trying to catch a scent, hoping to turn up new clues in the search for LaMar.

"We've had a lot of poison oak, ticks," Thompson said. "They've seen three rattlesnakes already today."

They joined more than 100 search and rescue team members from around the Bay Area.

Their mission was to hit hard to reach areas like hillsides and rock formations between Morgan Hill and Gilroy.

"We have searched in past, but didn't focus too much on areas outside the flatlands," said Sgt. Jose Cardoza, of Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.

At the volunteer center, more than 80 first timers joined many more returning volunteers.

"I'm a parent myself and I think this is every parent's worst nightmare," said first time volunteer Leslie Garcia.

That weekend marked the beginning of week six in the search for LaMar. For her father, Steve LaMar, panic has started to set in.

"I can't believe it's been that much harder," he said. "And then every day just gets just gets harder."

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#13 Lori Davis

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Posted 22 April 2012 - 09:00 AM

http://www.insidebay...lamar-continues

More than a month later, search for Sierra LaMar continues

By Joe Rodriguez
Posted:  04/21/2012 04:40:32 PM PDT
Updated:  04/21/2012 11:57:53 PM PDT

A month after missing teen Sierra LaMar vanished on the way to school, her hopeful mother shows up whenever volunteers gather before scouring the fields, creeks and back roads in search of the girl whose complete disappearance has mystified police and captivated the nation.

"Thank you for the presence of everyone in the room right now," says Marlene LaMar to the searchers who always begin their task with a group prayer. In recent days, the mother linked hands with three dozen volunteers.

Although the disappearance on the morning of March 16 of the outgoing 15-year-old with a passion for cheerleading, rap music, Twitter and the color pink has drawn sympathy coast to coast, little has emerged from the investigation to unravel the mystery of where she is. Detectives on the case are quietly putting the scattered pieces of evidence together like a problematic jigsaw puzzle, revealing little except to the girl's family.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said that's simply how it does business. The agency does not provide details as they come up because detectives aren't sure how important each detail is, where it might lead them or what might happen, says department spokesman Sgt. Jose Cardoza. There's no telling what Sierra's kidnappers, if there are any, or reluctant witnesses might do if they knew how close investigators were getting.

"It could be any number of things," Cardoza says. "It could affect future searches and interviews, or how we work on evidence that's still coming in." And although detectives are free to talk to reporters and the public, in general the investigators have chosen to remain behind the scenes.

And that's just fine with Marlene LaMar, who says the Sheriff's Office updates her "pretty consistently" with inside information.

"It's about ultimately her safe recovery," says the mom who works hard to appear upbeat and positive. "They are issuing information without hindering the case."

On Saturday, nearly 400 volunteers searched in and around Morgan Hill for clues, but they found nothing significant, authorities said. The search was to continue on Sunday.

One of the most critical developments in the case occurred two days after Sierra vanished, when investigators retrieved her pink Juicy-brand bag with a neatly folded T-shirt and a pair of pants inside.

The development, while important, left unresolved another mystery. Because she was the last one to leave the house that morning, it isn't clear if Sierra had been wearing the T-shirt and pants inside the bag. She could have changed out of those clothes or planned to change into them after school.

"We still don't know what she was wearing," Cardoza said.

Investigators within three days had retrieved Sierra's cellphone and laptop and sent them with the pink bag to the county crime lab. They also started a search and rescue operation of the area's fields, roads, hills and huge reservoirs that hold much of Silicon Valley's water.

Still, the LaMar family wanted a wider search. They asked family friend Brian Miller to organize one.

"Sierra is 15 and I have three 15-year-olds," Miller said. "Sierra once did a sleepover at our house."

Miller and the LaMars contacted the KlaasKids Foundation, which was named after the 1993 kidnap and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas in Petaluma. The group sent experts to teach Miller and other locals how to recruit and train volunteer searchers. After a slow start, Miller said his team leaders can install 300 searchers into a field within an hour. The volunteers for the triweekly searches have come from across the Bay Area and beyond.

The multipurpose room at Burnett Elementary serves as volunteer headquarters. The campus sits near the greenbelt between north Morgan Hill and South San Jose, and it's not far from the LaMar home. Pink balloons, posters and photos of a smiling Sierra plastered on the walls give the place a cheerful, optimistic feel.

Volunteer Paul Reyes, 70, signed up Wednesday for his third search. Waiting for an assignment, he remembered the day from his childhood when he and a sister fought off a would-be kidnapper. He was 12 and picking prunes in Los Gatos.

"But that's not why I'm here today," Reyes said with a laugh. "I almost forgot about that a long time ago. I'm here because I have grandchildren and this shouldn't happen to anyone."

Marlene LaMar visits with the volunteers every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, the regular search days. It's easy to see the daughter's likeness in the mother. LaMar, who is half Japanese, has a beaming smile, straight dark hair and easygoing manner. She banters with volunteers, hugs them and even has a good rapport with the television news crews that show up for almost every search.

LaMar has returned to work but said she finds it hard to focus on the job, and difficulty falling asleep is wearing her down. The volunteer headquarters gives her an emotional boost.

"We miss her extremely, especially in the home," she said. "It seems real quiet. ... I never thought I'd say this, but we miss the rap music, we really miss her."

The investigation hasn't left the family unmarked. As the probe progressed, detectives announced that Steve Wayne LaMar, Sierra's father, is a registered sex offender, but was cleared in the case. Other family members agreed to lie-detector tests and were also cleared.

Ten days after Sierra disappeared, the Sheriff's Office took her off the missing persons list and approached the case as a kidnapping or worse. They brought cadaver dogs to the fields and scanned the surface of the reservoirs -- but no luck. Divers with sonar devices have checked deep under the water but so far have detected only logs and shadows.

Thirteen days into the search, volunteers found an empty box labeled "Handcuffs" and two used condoms nearby. Investigators sent the items to the crime lab and haven't reported on the analysis.

Three weeks after Sierra's disappearance, more than 3,000 volunteers -- including San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith -- have spent at least a day looking for her. Sierra's family set up a $10,000 reward.

Given the attention the case has drawn, hoaxes and cruelty were bound to emerge. On Wednesday morning, a rumor broke out in the volunteer center that DNA evidence had been found. A television crew broadcast the tidbit without verification.

Later the same day, a hacker broke into Sierra's Twitter account and sent a message, giving her family and 4,000 followers false hope, heartbreak and anger.

In the latest update that seemed to promise some hope, the Sheriff's Office announced new leads coming from the crime lab. But so far they have not described the evidence or indicated where the new leads might take the investigation.

Miller continues to put in 10 to 18 hours a day organizing searches for evidence he hopes will lead to Sierra's rescue.

"Every day that we don't find her, I'm OK with that," he said. "Every time we go out, we're improving the chances for Sierra to walk through the door."

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#14 Lori Davis

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Posted 28 April 2012 - 11:42 AM

http://sanfrancisco....arch-continues/

Sierra LaMar’s Family To Raise Reward As Search Continues

April 27, 2012 9:55 PM

MORGAN HILL (CBS SF) — The family of a Morgan Hill teen who has been missing for more than a month plans to increase the reward being offered for her safe return.

Steve LaMar, the father of Sierra LaMar, plans to announce the increase Saturday morning, according to the KlaasKids Foundation, which is helping organize volunteers searching for the missing girl.

The reward, first offered April 7, is currently set at $10,000.

Sierra, 15, has been missing since March 16, when she disappeared on her way to school. Investigators have said they are treating her disappearance as an abduction.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office has conducted extensive searches in the area surrounding Sierra’s home since her disappearance, including searches of reservoirs and other bodies of water. Hundreds of volunteers have also turned out for the search.

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#15 Lori Davis

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Posted 28 April 2012 - 11:43 AM

http://www.kionright...reased-to-25000

Search for Sierra: Reward Increased to $25,000

Posted: Apr 28, 2012 3:16 PM EDT
Updated: Apr 28, 2012 3:17 PM EDT
By Brttany Davis Pulley

Morgan Hill, Calif.- The reward to find a missing teen from Morgan Hill increased to $25,000 today. 15-year-old Sierra Lamar vanished on her way to the bus stop on March 16. Today 150 volunteers are

Morgan Hill, Calif.- The reward to find a missing teen from Morgan Hill increased to $25,000 today.

15-year-old Sierra Lamar vanished on her way to the bus stop on March 16.

Today 150 volunteers are searching the area for her.

The next search is scheduled for Wednesday.

The previous reward for Sierra's safe recovery was $10,000.

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#16 Shannon

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Posted 12 May 2012 - 01:33 PM

http://sacramento.cb...n-sierra-lamar/

Investigators Searching For Car Believed Connected To Missing Teen Sierra LaMar

Posted Image
A late 1990’s model Volkswagen Jetta, similar to the one pictured but featuring a black hood, may have been involved in the disappearance of Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar. (Santa Clara County Sheriff)

May 7, 2012 10:15 AM

MORGAN HILL, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say they’re looking for a vehicle that they believe is connected to the abduction of a Northern California teenager who’s been missing for nearly two months.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office on Monday released a photo of a 1990s red Volkwagen Jetta that’s similar to a car linked to the disappearance of 15-year-old Sierra LaMar. Investigators believe Sierra was kidnapped March 16 while walking to a bus stop near her Morgan Hill home.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Jose Cardoza says the red sedan being sought has a black hood.

Meanwhile, crime lab technicians continue to analyze possible evidence found during searches for Sierra.

Cardoza says they’ve determined a handcuff box and used condoms found within a mile-and-a-half of her home are not associated with the case.

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#17 Shannon

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Posted 12 May 2012 - 01:35 PM

http://www.katv.com/...ssing-teen-case

Authorities find car sought in missing teen case

Posted: May 08, 2012 3:26 PM MDT
Updated: May 08, 2012 4:16 PM MDT

By TERRY COLLINS

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Investigators have located a vehicle that may be connected to the abduction of a Northern California teenager who's been missing for nearly two months, authorities said Tuesday.

Santa Clara County sheriff's Sgt. Jose Cardoza wouldn't say where or when the red Volkswagen Jetta was recovered. Surveillance cameras and witnesses put the car near the area where authorities believe 15-year-old Sierra LaMar was kidnapped in Suburban San Jose on March 16.

"It's still an open investigation," Cardoza told The Associated Press on Tuesday following a briefing in San Jose. "Our investigators do not want to compromise the case. We do not want to jeopardize anything."

Authorities believe Sierra was kidnapped near her home in Morgan Hill while she was walking to a bus stop on her way to school. The car's discovery comes a day after the sheriff's office released a photo of a red Jetta that's similar to the car linked to the disappearance.

Investigators are now looking for anyone who saw the car - which also has a black hood - in the area and who may have been riding in it at the time of Sierra's abduction, Cardoza said.

"We really need the public to come forward and help provide us with any information they may have about this vehicle," Cardoza said. "We want to know if they saw it in Morgan Hill, outside of Morgan Hill during the time she went missing so our investigators can piece everything together."

Cardoza said investigators asked Sierra's family asked about the car, but they have no knowledge of it.

Sierra's mother, Marlene LaMar, told KGO-TV on Monday that the car is just the kind of solid lead her family has been hoping for.

"I know everybody out there is going to do everything possible to report the sighting of this car," LaMar said.

The mother said she is convinced her daughter is still alive, and she had a direct message for anyone involved with her disappearance.

"I am not looking for trouble or a conviction. I just want - we all want her safe return. We all want this nightmare to end, and that's my plea out there," she said.

Despite Sierra being missing for nearly two months, there are no indications that she is dead, Cardoza said.

Dive teams were searching private ponds in rural Morgan Hill on Tuesday and were expected to search in unincorporated reservoirs in south San Jose, Cardoza said.

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#18 Shannon

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Posted 12 May 2012 - 01:47 PM

http://www.huffingto..._n_1510212.html

Sierra LaMar Search Resumed By California Authorities

Posted: 05/11/2012 3:42 pm
Updated: 05/11/2012 3:45 pm

By: David Lohr

Authorities in Santa Clara County, Calif., have resumed the search for missing teenager Sierra LaMar, who vanished eight weeks ago today.

Investigators will be conducting ground searches in south Morgan Hill this afternoon. Searchers will focus on open fields and construction sites, according to Sgt. Jose Cardoza, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff.

Underwater search teams will also resume water searches today at two reservoirs in unincorporated south San Jose.

"Almaden Quicksilver reservoir will be checked today with the assistance of a water borne detection K9 [and] side scan sonar checks will be conducted at Guadalupe reservoir," Cardoza said.

Despite more than 2,000 tips and thousands of personnel hours, police have made little headway in the teen's baffling disappearance.

The most recent discovery in the case was made Tuesday, when investigators located a red Volkswagen Jetta that may be connected to LaMar's abduction. Surveillance cameras and witnesses have placed the vehicle near the area where authorities believe LaMar was abducted. Authorities have yet to comment on what, if anything, they have learned from an examination of the vehicle.

LaMar was last seen around 6 a.m. on March 16, when she left her Morgan Hill home in Santa Clara County to attend classes at Sobrato High School. The sophomore never made it to the bus or to school. The following day, authorities found LaMar's cellphone discarded along a road roughly three-quarters of a mile northwest of her mother's home. The day after that, her purse and a backpack were found in a location about a mile from where investigators recovered her cellphone.

Because LaMar does not have a history of running away and has a close relationship with her family, authorities suspect she might have been abducted, but police have no suspects and no persons of interest at this time.

The TV crime show America's Most Wanted will be covering the LaMar case for a second time on Friday. The show will air at 9 p.m. on the Lifetime channel.

Sierra LaMar is 5-foot-2-inches tall with a thin build. She has brown eyes and long, black hair, and was last seen with a Juicy brand purse with a black and pink design.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the sheriff's department at 408-808-4500 or the anonymous tip line at 408-808-4431. Email tips can be sent to tips@sheriff.sccgov.org.

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#19 Shannon

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Posted 12 May 2012 - 01:51 PM

http://www.mercuryne...ues-mothers-day

Mother of missing teen Sierra LaMar issues Mother's Day letter

By Sharon Noguchi

Posted:  05/11/2012 06:13:13 PM PDT
Updated:  05/11/2012 10:44:13 PM PDT

Two days before Mother's Day, the mother of missing Morgan Hill-area teen Sierra LaMar issued a poignant statement reflecting on the joys and difficulties of motherhood.

The brief, three-paragraph letter sent to media outlets said that Sierra was her "miracle baby," conceived when Marlene LaMar, now 51, had been told she might not get pregnant again.

"Mother's Day is a time of reflection on what being a mom has brought to your life. Being a mom has been the greatest joy of my life. From the moment I knew that a little life was growing inside me, there was an overwhelming need to protect and nurture my child," the letter began.

Marlene LaMar said she wrote the letter for her daughters Danielle, 21, and Sierra, 15, and also for other mothers.

The letter continues, "It's not always an easy job. A child develops ideas of their own. Sometimes a mom might disagree because of personal experiences and wisdom. We hover, discipline and teach them to be responsible. We do these things because of our unconditional love for our children! I hope as mothers, we guide them to make good choices."

LaMar said Friday that she was reflecting on difficulties with her own mother and not any she had with Sierra, when she wrote those words.

"I'll never forget my mother saying, 'You just wait until you have your own kids,' " LaMar said. "As teens, we sometimes don't appreciate our moms and later realize when we become mothers ourselves what a major influence they've had on us."

Meanwhile on Friday, searchers focused on open fields and construction sites in south Morgan Hill. Divers also inspected two reservoirs in the South San Jose area, according to Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. Jose Cardoza.

Sierra disappeared March 16 on her way to catch a bus to Sobrato High in Morgan Hill. Investigators are studying a red Volkswagen Jetta sedan that they suspected might be connected with the case.

A search operation has been anchored at Burnett Elementary in Morgan Hill. Thousands of volunteers on searches organized every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday have scoured areas for evidence of Sierra. The reward for information leading to her has increased to $25,000.

Marc Klaas, of the Klaas Kids Foundation, said he suggested LaMar write the letter. "It would be something that I thought would be good for her to do, to reach out to try to make contact with Sierra," he said. The Klaas foundation has organized the thrice-weekly searches for Sierra.

"I thought what a great idea, to demonstrate how I feel being Sierra and Danielle's mom, what they mean to me," LaMar said, "and sending that message to the mothers." In her letter Friday, LaMar wrote about her daughter, "I knew she was going to be strong-willed the moment the doctor saw on the ultrasound that she was doing somersaults in utero.

"Regardless of the work it takes to raise children, the overwhelming love far outweighs those moments that you wonder how you'll ever make it through."

The letter concludes, "The greatest gift that God has blessed me with is the joy of being a mom to two beautiful daughters. I love you Danielle and Sierra, and I'm so proud to be your mom."


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#20 Lori Davis

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Posted 20 May 2012 - 05:42 AM

http://sanfrancisco....onal-attention/

Search Tactics For Missing Morgan Hill Teen Gain International Attention

May 19, 2012 10:41 AM

MORGAN HILL (KCBS)— Volunteer searchers are back out in Morgan Hill this Saturday looking for clues in the disappearance of Sierra LaMar. The two-month old case and some of its high-tech methods is now getting worldwide attention, including coverage from the BBC.

BBC reporter Matt Danzico said, from the command center, that the technological ways the family is searching for the missing 15-year-old is what interests them.

“We’re interested in the fact that they’re using QR [quick response] codes now on these fliers. We’re interested in the social media push that the LaMar family is using to get the word out there,” Danzico said.

Klass Kids founder Mark Klass said QR codes can add a lot more in-depth information to a missing child flier.

“This really is 21st century stuff. You’re able to scan the code with your smartphone and be taken directly to a site that will give you information on whatever you happen to be scanning,” he said.

Klass added that it’s that much more important with missing children in providing a rich environment of information that you otherwise wouldn’t have.

QR codes date back to 1994 when Toyota invented them to track car parts.

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#21 Shannon

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Posted 22 May 2012 - 06:19 AM

http://latimesblogs....erra-lamar.html

Missing teen Sierra LaMar: 21-year-old man arrested in slaying

May 22, 2012; 6:34

More than two months after Bay Area teenager Sierra LaMar disappeared on her way to school, investigators said they have “a lot of physical evidence” linking her to a man arrested on suspicion of murder and kidnapping.

Antolin Garcia-Torres, 21, was taken into custody Monday at a Safeway in Morgan Hill, Santa Clara Sheriff Laurie Smith told reporters.

“We believe we have probable cause that he committed the kidnapping and murder of Sierra LaMar,” Smith said.

Garcia-Torres owns the red Volkswagen Jetta previously sought by authorities in connection to the case, the San Jose Mercury News reported. The car was found May 8.

Smith said Garcia-Torres had been under surveillance but did not elaborate. More information about the case is expected to be revealed at a Tuesday morning news conference.

Sierra was last seen heading to school the morning of March 16. The next day, investigators found the high school cheerleader’s cellphone a few blocks away from her school. A day later, her pink Juicy-brand bag was found with a T-shirt and pants neatly folded inside.

The case drew significant attention as volunteers combed the area near Sierra’s home and school. Marc Klaas, whose 12-year-old daughter was kidnapped from their Petaluma home in 1993, helped organize some of those searches.

He told the Mercury News that until Sierra’s body was found, his volunteers would continue looking this week "in hopes of still finding Sierra alive."


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#22 Shannon

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Posted 22 May 2012 - 08:19 AM

http://www.kron4.com...?ArticleID=4201

Sheriff: DNA Linked Missing Morgan Hill Teen to Suspect 

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:00:20

By: Ja'Mein Beale

MORGAN HILL (KRON) - Authorities say a 21-year-old man in custody has been linked to the kidnapping and murder of missing Morgan Hill teen Sierra Lamar by DNA evidence found in her bag.
     
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said at a press conference Tuesday morning that Antolin Garcia-Torres's DNA was found inside a bag belonging to Sierra LaMar. Smith said it appeared to be a random act of violence.
     
Garcia-Torres was arrested late Monday on suspicion of murder and kidnapping of Sierra, whose disappearance more than two months ago prompted hundreds of volunteers to turn out for organized searches led by the Klaas Kids Foundation.
     
Sierra hasn't been seen or heard from since she left her home in Morgan Hill to go to school on March 16. Authorities believe she was kidnapped while walking to a bus stop.
     
Smith said Garcia-Torres had been under 24-hour surveillance since March 28 and that evidence also linked him to at least one assault in March 2009.
     
"We believe this is the worst kind of crime, a stranger abducting a young girl," she said.
     
Volunteers and sheriff's officials have searched the fields, open spaces and reservoirs near Morgan Hill since Sierra's disappearance. The KlaasKids Foundation, founded by Marc Klaas, whose 12-year-old daughter Polly was kidnapped from her Petaluma home and murdered in 1993, has been organizing volunteer searches on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
     
Investigators found Sierra's handbag with clothing and a cellphone along the side of the road near her home on March 17, the day after Sierra's mother reported her missing.
     
Earlier this month, investigators located a red Volkswagen Jetta they said may have been connected to Sierra's abduction given that surveillance cameras and witnesses put the car near the area where authorities believe she disappeared. Smith said late Monday that Garcia-Torres owns the Volkswagen.

Sierra's mother, Marlene Lamar attended Tuesday's press conference and thanked the community for their support during her family's difficult time.

"I would like to thank the community outreaching to find Sierra and all their time and efforts that have gone into this," Lamar said. "We continue to pray, until she's found. Our search is still not going to end. As a mother, I'm hopeful because her body has not been found and that gives me hope." 

Marlene Lamar also had a message for the man arrested for Sierra's disappearance.

"I do have a plea to the perpetrator to please give the information that you have to lead us to Sierra to help end this nightmare. I would like you to come forward and say where she is and end this nightmare for us as a family."

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#23 Lori Davis

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Posted 24 May 2012 - 01:39 PM

http://www.montereyh...ed-murder-enter

Sierra LaMar's alleged killer charged with murder; no plea entered, no bail set

By Tracey Kaplan
Posted:  05/24/2012 02:02:53 PM PDT
Updated:  05/24/2012 02:21:00 PM PDT

The Morgan Hill man accused of killing 15-year-old Sierra LaMar was charged Thursday, in the latest murder case without the victim's body that local prosecutors have tried over the years, with mixed results.

Wearing a gray jail tunic with his hands shackled to his waist, Antolin Garcia Torres, 21, kept silent with his head bowed while charge was read -- one count of murder with a special circumstance of kidnapping.

While that charge makes Garcia Torres eligible for the death penalty, District Attorney Jeff Rosen said he will not decide until his office completes a lengthy review of the case and he's had a chance to speak with the victim's family.

A formal arraignment for the suspect was set for May 31.

At the first public appearance since his arrest on Monday night, crowds outside the Santa Clara County courthouse carried signs bearing photos of the lost teen girl that read: "Where's Sierra?" A group of seven or eight young people chanted, "Her family wants her home!"

Sierra disappeared March 16 on her way to catch a bus to Sobrato High in Morgan Hill. The case made national headlines and galvanized the Morgan Hill community, where volunteers continued to comb through the area this week for her body. Sierra's family is holding out hope she is still alive.

Authorities say they found Garcia Torres' DNA on Sierra's clothing, which was folded in her Juicy-brand bag tossed into a field two miles from her home. Within the past week, the crime lab matched Sierra's DNA to Garcia Torres' car, which led to his arrest Monday at gunpoint.

Morgan Hill police say they have tied him to at least one other attack in the parking lot of the Safeway where he once worked and was arrested. They are also investigating Garcia Torres as a possible suspect in three unsolved assaults in Safeway parking lots that occurred within a seven-day period in March 2009.

Murder cases without the victim's body are rare and can be challenging to win -- especially in the age of TV shows like CSI (Crime Scene Investigation). Juries can harbor unrealistic expectations that prosecutors will have the case sewed up with the body, a motive, good forensics and a confession.

But some experts say it may be easier than ever in this technological age before to prove a missing victim is dead.

In 1991, renowned Palo Alto criminal defense attorney Thomas J. Nolan got Cupertino mechanic Robert Carlotto, acquitted of killing his estranged spouse, Los Altos horse trainer Blair Miller-Carlotto -- partly by arguing that her diary entries indicated she may have vanished on purpose.

Nolan said it's become more difficult to make the case that the alleged victim is still alive in the absence of cell phone, credit card or texting activity, as in Sierra's case.

"The way our society has changed and the social media and technology, it's more and more difficult to disappear,'' Nolan said. "Technology now does play into these cases significantly.''

Sierra joins a short list of Santa Clara County men and women who have disappeared and are presumed dead through foul play, and whose suspected killlers have charged.

Among the other missing victims are Jeanine Harms, Young Kim, Nancy Jo Crew and Miller-Carlotto.

In 2003, prosecutor Peter Waite won a first-degree murder conviction against Gustavo Covian for killing Gilroy diner-owner Young Kim, who was last seen entering his garage one night after going out drinking with a friend.

Covian had boasted about the crime and threatened Kim's wife he would kill her if she didn't pay him for getting rid of her abusive husband, Waite said.

"The bragging is what helped do it for us,'' Waite said.

Waite also prosecuted Kim's wife a year later, but the jury acquitted her.

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#24 Lori Davis

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Posted 03 June 2012 - 05:50 PM

http://abclocal.go.c..._bay&id=8686808

Sierra LaMar volunteers not giving up hope
Saturday, June 02, 2012

Volunteers conducted a day-long search for missing Morgan Hill teenager Sierra LaMar Saturday.

It's been 11 weeks since LaMar disappeared while heading to school.

On May 21, police arrested Antolin Garcia Torres, of Morgan Hill, on suspicion of murder and kidnapping in connection with LaMar's disappearance.
Still, her family and friends have not lost hope of finding her alive. They continue to raise money to conduct weekly searches.

The Santa Clara County dive teams said they will wrap up an ongoing search of Uvas Reservior on Tuesday.

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#25 Lori Davis

Lori Davis

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Posted 19 August 2012 - 11:33 AM

http://www.mercuryne...rave-poison-oak

Four months later, volunteers still steadfast in Sierra LaMar search

Julia Prodis Sulek
Posted:  07/31/2012 06:18:57 AM PDT
Updated:  07/31/2012 06:19:04 AM PDT

MORGAN HILL -- Sierra LaMar's parents and sister won't be attending Tuesday's court hearing to see the man accused of kidnapping and murdering the 15-year-old. They can't bear the thought that the person they believe holds the secret to her whereabouts may utter the words "not guilty."

But others who have shown extraordinary devotion to the LaMar family and the search for Sierra for the past four months won't miss it.

Even after 21-year-old Antolin Garcia Torres was arrested in May, even after Morgan Hill merchants began taking down missing posters, a core group of about 40 people, whose hometowns stretch from Salinas to San Francisco, continue searching every Wednesday and Saturday for signs of the teenager who disappeared March 16 on her way to school.

They continue to trudge through shoulder-high poison oak, cut through bramble bushes, wrap tape around the cuffs of their pants so the snakes don't slither up, and pull out ticks at the end of the day. And for some who can't take the perils of searching -- like a group of grandmothers in their 70s -- they cook for the volunteers instead. They wear matching aprons and serve homemade meals, like chicken cacciatore and lemon Bundt cakes.

"She's just like our child. I couldn't think of staying home. I just couldn't," said Vivian Goforth, 75, of Morgan Hill. She baked three cakes last Wednesday and three more on Saturday because "I'm too old to go traipsing through the poison oak."

"But we can cook!" chimed in Loretta Wilson, 73, also of Morgan Hill.

"It's like we can't stop," Goforth said. "Isn't that crazy? People ask us why. I say we can't stop 'til we find her."

Most who show up at the search center in the abandoned cafeteria of the old Burnett Elementary School in Morgan Hill never knew Sierra LaMar. But they feel compelled to help the family of the girl whose brilliant smile and long dark hair are frozen in time. On Saturday, while many went out in teams to search again, others held a carwash in the parking lot to raise money for search supplies and groceries.

"It's a quest. It's almost like I'm on a mission now," said Cecelia Ponzini, 60, of Morgan Hill who signs in volunteers and helps organize fundraisers. "I wouldn't even feel right not coming here. You feel guilty."

At the arraignment of Garcia Torres in late May, when he showed up in shackles but didn't enter a plea, nearly a dozen of those volunteers wore T-shirts with Sierra's photo on it and waved homemade signs asking, "Where is Sierra?"

They want an answer.

"We need to find her, hopefully to give them more evidence" to convict Garcia Torres, said Renee Figueira, 45, of San Jose, who has two daughters, one just three days younger than Sierra.

She will be one of the volunteers attending Tuesday's hearing "to support the family and let anyone who sees us know we have not forgotten and we're not going to stop looking."

It's possible Garcia Torres could enter a plea during the hearing. He remains in Santa Clara County Jail, held without bail and charged with murder with the special circumstance of kidnapping. He is eligible for the death penalty, pending a decision by District Attorney Jeff Rosen.

When Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith announced Garcia Torres' arrest in May -- two months after Sierra's disappearance -- she said that deputies had found neither a body nor blood. But the crime lab found Garcia Torres' DNA on Sierra's clothes that were found discarded in a field not far from her rural bus stop south of Bailey Road, the sheriff said. And, she said, Sierra's DNA was found in the suspect's red Volkswagen Jetta.

Detectives had been following Garcia Torres for weeks before his arrest, hoping he would lead them to her body. Once employed at a Morgan Hill Safeway, Garcia Torres worked odd jobs trimming trees and lived in a small trailer in Morgan Hill with his mother, pregnant wife and young daughter.

At the search center about five miles north of the trailer park, volunteers start each search day by holding hands in a circle and praying for direction. Each has his or her own motivation to be there.

Some are like Erika Miller, 37, who drives 140 miles round-trip from San Francisco twice a week to help the search because "if it were my sister I'd want them to do the same for me."

Some, like Karl Scott Gray, have lost their jobs and want to fill their time doing something meaningful. Gray suffered a debilitating motorcycle accident and rides his bike from Gilroy to join the search.

Others know firsthand the pain of never recovering a lost family member. Their photos and stories fill a "volunteer wall" in the search center. Pat Boyd, whose stepdaughter Christie Wilson was abducted in 2005 from a casino parking lot north of Sacramento, is a regular in Sierra's search. So is Larry Cooper of Soquel, whose cousin Jeanine Harms disappeared a decade ago from a Campbell restaurant.

Ponzini, whose family runs a towing company and garage in Morgan Hill, lost a son to a heart attack. But unlike Sierra's family, she said, "I know where Edward is. He's in the ground buried. Where's Sierra?"

Marc Klaas hasn't seen this much sustained commitment since his own daughter, Polly, was abducted by Richard Allen Davis in 1992.

"That lasted only two months," he said, before Davis led authorities to her body off a highway near Cloverdale. "I'm very proud of these people. God bless 'em."

Marlene and Steve LaMar and their daughter Danielle are always there to greet the volunteers with hugs and smiles.

"It helps to keep us strong," Marlene LaMar said Saturday. "Knowing they haven't given up on finding her is really good therapy for us."

Lori Davis, Project Jason Forum Moderator
www.projectjason.org
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If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.





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