Santa Clara County law enforcement officials found a purse containing “neatly folded” clothing that belonged to missing Morgan Hill 15-year-old Sierra LaMar, according to Sgt. Jose Cardoza.
The items were found about 1 p.m. Sunday, in a rural area north of town, near the intersection of Santa Teresa Boulevard and Laguna Avenue, Cardoza said at a press conference near the site of the found items Thursday morning. The purse, a “Juicy” brand bag, contained a pair of pants, a T-shirt and underclothes.
The items were found about one mile from the spot where her cell phone was found Saturday evening at Scheller Avenue and Santa Teresa Boulevard. That area was about three-quarters of a mile from Sierra LaMar’s home just off Dougherty Avenue, where the teen lives with her mother Marlene LaMar and mother’s boyfriend Rick Gardiner.
Investigators still have not found any indication supporting either a voluntary flight or kidnapping theory, and there is still no evidence of foul play, Cardoza added. Sierra’s disappearance is still being treated as a “missing person” case.
“We have no evidence leading to a suspect or a person of interest,” Cardoza said. He added that Sierra had a “good relationship” with her parents, who are divorced, and with Gardiner.
He also announced that authorities, with the help of volunteer search-and-rescue teams, have expanded the search for the missing Sobrato High School sophomore to a broader area.
The sheriff’s office deployed five K-9 search dogs, some trained to search for human remains and some to search for a missing person, Cardoza added. The search includes a three-mile radius surrounding LaMar’s mother’s home and will be expanded depending on the initial results. About 40 people, including trained search and rescue volunteers, are involved in the search.
“We will be looking for any evidence of a crime,” including tire tracks, foot prints, more of Sierra’s property, and any other items that might be related to the disappearance, Cardoza said. The search will include waterways, private property and large tracts of land.
The intensified effort differs from the immediate search last weekend, which Cardoza classified as “more general” and covered a smaller area.
The FBI is assisting with the search as well, but Cardoza declined to comment on why or in what capacity the federal agency is involved.
Authorities declined to confirm whether or not LaMar had been wearing the clothing that was found in her purse Sunday, or if she might have been carrying them for a sleepover or an after-school change of clothes. Cardoza could not confirm if LaMar typically carried a change of clothing in her purse, or if she had any plans after school Friday.
Nothing else was found in the purse – not even makeup, a wallet or hair brush, Cardoza said.
LaMar did not attend school Friday, according to authorities and her family. She likely went missing sometime after 7 a.m., but was not reported missing until about 6:30 p.m. when her family learned she did not make it to school.
The teen usually starts walking from her home to catch the school bus between 7 and 7:10 a.m., police said. Her last post to her Twitter website account was 6:29 a.m., and she sent a text from her phone to a friend about 7:11 a.m., Cardoza added. Both messages were sent from her home.
The text was not a “distress” message and it did not indicate anything suspicious, though Cardoza declined to elaborate on what the message said.
Authorities held off reporting the discovery of Sierra’s purse and clothing for four days because they had to confirm they were her possessions, and take “some investigative steps” in the meantime, Cardoza added.
Investigators are still running forensics examinations on Sierra’s Droid smartphone and her laptop, which deputies recovered from her bedroom. Analysis of her Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr accounts so far have not indicated that she planned to run away, and no “persons of interest” have been associated with any visits, follows or friend connections on the sites, Cardoza said.
Some of the content on the accounts contains profanity, references to marijuana and alcohol use and carnally suggestive photos and comments. Cardoza said her parents “knew she was an avid ‘Facebooker’ and ‘tweeter’,” but did not specify whether or not they closely monitored the accounts.
He added that none of the content is suspicious or reflective of an intent on Sierra’s part to run away.
Ongoing investigation techniques that authorities started earlier this week continue, Cardoza said. These include more interviews with students at Sobrato and Washington High School in Fremont, where Sierra transferred from; and interviews with known sex offense registrants in the South County area. As of Wednesday, more than 150 people had been interviewed as part of the investigation.
