Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - Searches are continuing their efforts Wednesday in locating a 59-year-old Northern California woman who was swept away in the San Gabriel River March 9.
Terrain and the swiftness of the river in certain locations makes the effort more difficult for searchers. Tuesday was spent with searchers traversing the river to inspect areas obscured by debris, according to deputy Bommarito, search and rescue coordinator with the San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team. “We haven’t stopped yet. We’re not going to stop. We’re going to keep pushing through with different missions,” Bommarito told SGV CityWatch. Searchers are continuing to focus on an area from the point last seen, which is the Bridge to Nowhere, south to San Gabriel Reservoir. However, Bommarito doesn’t believe at this time that the hiker traveled as far as the reservoir. If she did make it to the reservoir, the hiker would have to travel in one to two miles of shallow water: anywhere from 6 inches to one foot deep, Bommarito told SGV CityWatch. Depending on availability, search teams may range from as few as six to as many as 30 per day, with teams from San Dimas, Sierra Madre, Altadena, Malibu and Avalon, Bommarito said. From the air, the Sheriff’s Department has deployed their Air Rescue 5 helicopter and have had drones from the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau searching the river. The trail leading to the Bridge to Nowhere is a roughly 10-mile hike with as many as four to five river crossings. Some crossings take hikers through ankle-deep water in late spring or early summer. Where the missing hiker tried to cross features water that can be waist deep or chest high, Bommarito told SGV CityWatch. Eyewitnesses who crossed before and after the missing hiker and her friends told searchers that the water was waist high for them Saturday, Bommarito told SGV CityWatch. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - Authorities recently announced that a hiker missing since July 1 in the mountains above the Altadena area was found dead one week after he was reported missing.
Albert Baer Zisook, 65, was found on Bear Canyon Trail near Mt. Lowe Road, according to the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner. His cause of death has been deferred, pending additional investigation. Zisook was reported missing to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was last seen July 1 at 6 a.m. near Chaney Trail and Loma Alta Drive in Altadena. Zisook's family noted that he was an avid hiker. "After many days of searching, with more than a thousand man-hours from multiple search & rescue teams, our operation concluded. However, the outcome was not as hoped. Our heartfelt condolences to the family of Albert Zisook," according to the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team in a written statement. The arduous search led a search team member to sustain serious injuries. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - A South Pasadena man who set out on a hike July 15 above Monrovia has not returned home, authorities said.
Colin Brian Walker, 53, was las seen on a Monrovia resident’s security camera in the 900 block of Ridgeside Drive heading to a hiking trail around 6:23 a.m. July 15. He has not been heard from since, according to the South Pasadena Police Department. Members of the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue team and the Montrose Search and Rescue Team have been searching by ground. A helicopter has also searched the area. Walker is white, stands 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds. He was last seen in a gray t-shirt, dark shorts, gray socks, brown boots, a brown hat, carried hiking sticks and a large green backpack. Anyone with information on Walker’s whereabouts is urged to call the South Pasadena Police Department at 626-403-7297. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Authorities are asking for the public to help find a missing 69-year-old man who was last seen in the city of Ontario.
Michael Bell’s cell phone signal was last tracked to somewhere along Highway 39 in the Azusa Mountains, authorities said Wednesday. Bell suffers from undisclosed medical issues and may be disoriented, according to the Chino Police Department. Bell is 6 feet 3 inches tall, has black hair, blue eyes, and last wore a grey sweatshirt, blue jeans and tan slippers. He is driving a white Acura MDX with license plate DP997WR, according to the Chino Police Department. Anyone with a knowledge of Bell’s whereabouts is urged to call the Chino police department at 909-628-1234. Reference case # 22-03228. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Investigators are searching for a woman missing since November 2018.
Lindsey Kathleen Sprague, 36, was last seen in San Bernardino County. She was identified as a San Dimas resident, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Sprague stands 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds, has blond or brown hair and hazel eyes. She also has a tattoo of a shooting star on her right shoulder blade and a tattoo of the Roman numeral 12 on her left forearm. Anyone with the information on the whereabouts of Sprague is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - With a single photo provided by the man himself, crews are attempting to locate a missing hiker in the Mt. Waterman area of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
The hiker, only described as a 45-year-old Hispanic man, was reported missing at 6 p.m. April 12. He sent a photo to a friend earlier in the hike and, judging by the spot on his legs, he appears to have traversed a recent burn area, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The missing hiker’s vehicle was found unoccupied near the Buckhorn campground/ trailhead. The friend of the missing hiker sent a text. The friend alerted deputies. “The caller stated his friend ... was lost and his cell phone was dying,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Anyone who can help locate the missing hiker is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crescenta Valley Station at 818-248-3464. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - It has been three days since a 72-year-old man was last seen in the Mt. Baldy area, Sheriff’s officials said.
Kwang Sun Kim was last seen March 23 around 8 a.m. He told family that he was going for hike, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Missing Persons Unit. Kim is 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 130 pounds, has brown eyes and short black hair. Anyone with information on Kim’s whereabouts is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Missing Person’s Unit at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3 Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Detectives investigating the assault and disappearance of a Monrovia woman pieced together the suspect’s movements in the hours since her July 29 disappearance. Amanda Kathleen Custer, 31, was seen by witnesses as her reportedly lifeless body was placed into the rear hatch of a grey Prius, allegedly at the hands of Robert Anthony Camou, 27. Before Camou was seen in Claremont northbound towards the San Gabriel Mountains, he stopped at Del Taco, 1834 E. Route 66, in Glendora at 8:32 a.m. Five minutes later, Camou bought cigarettes from a Shell Gas Station, 1860 E. Route 66, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. Camou was tracked by the ankle monitor he was required to wear as part of a domestic violence case involving Custer. The Prius headed east through Claremont at 8:56 a.m. through Baseline Road and Padua Avenue. Camou stopped at an AMPM in the 3800 block of Sierra Avenue just before 9 a.m. near Lytle Creek. Nearly 30 minutes later, he headed south on the 15 freeway, but detectives lost track of Camou’s movements.
“After this point, there is a five-hour gap in time, where the location of Robert Camou and Amanda Custer is unknown,” detectives said. At 2:40 p.m., Camou visited a Chase Bank ATM in Azusa -- about five hours after detectives lost track of him after he removed the ankle monitor. Detectives have expanded their search, which focused on the Glendora Ridge Road/Mt. Baldy Road and Lytle Creek areas, to include the Azusa canyons. "This is basically a plea to anybody one out there, especially on Monday, the 29th of July that was hiking or fishing or mountain biking that might of seen anything out of the ordinary. It might not have seemed important at that time, but it does now,” said Custer’s father, Rick Custer. Camou is being held without bail in an unrelated domestic violence, burglary and assault case. Anyone with information on Custer’s whereabouts is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Homicide detectives have expanded their search for a woman not seen since July 29. Detectives are searching the Lytle Creek area, where suspect Robert Anthony Camou apparently has great knowledge of. His girlfriend Amanda Custer has been missing since she was taken against her will, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “We are asking the community to remain vigilant and keep an eye out for Amanda Custer,” deputies said in a written statement. Deputies are also searching the San Gabriel Mountains in the Glendora Ridge Road and Mt. Baldy Road areas. Camou was apparently witnessed placing Custer into his grey Prius after an assault occurred in a Monrovia home. Police entered the home after Camou drove away with Custer and found blood inside. Camou was found sleeping in his Prius in Los Angeles July 30 and was arrested after a lengthy standoff. Camou is being held on an unrelated, no-bail domestic violence warrant.
Camou infamously was recorded rapping about killing a woman and burying her in the dirt. The video was recorded hours before his arrest. If anyone has information on Amanda Custer’s whereabouts or any information about her disappearance, call 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - A 15-year-old girl is still outstanding and may be accompanying her mother and the mother’s boyfriend who are accused of murder in Carson. Alora Benitez was last seen around 9 a.m. April 17 as she, her mother and an adult male left their Torrance home in a white 2013 BMW four-door sedan, which features Nevada license plate MARIMAR, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. A man was found dead in the front seat of a white Audi parked in the 400 block of East Carson Plaza Drive in Carson April 16.
Benitez’s mother and the mother’s boyfriend are considered armed and dangerous. Benitez is 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 100 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone who knows Benitez’s or the suspects’ whereabouts is urged to call Detective Lawler or Detective Blagg of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). |
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