Crime & Safety

Family Suspends Search for Sierra LaMar Three Years After She Disappeared

Sierra LaMar went missing on March 16, 2012. #‎SierraLaMar‬ #FindSierra

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Three years after she vanished, the family of missing Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar has called off the weekly searches, according to KRON 4 News.

LaMar was abducted from the Morgan Hill area on March 16, 2012. Antolin Garcia-Torres, 23, was arrested and indicted in connection with the LaMar case on May 21, 2012. LaMar’s body has never been found.

In 2014, the sheriff’s office said that her DNA was detected inside Garcia-Torres’ car, a Volkswagen Jetta. On May 19, 2014 District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced his office would seek the death penalty for Garcia-Torres.

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LaMar’s disappearance has attracted widespread publicity and a dedicated group of volunteers is still conducting regular searches for her body in the Morgan Hill area.

For three years, volunteers from around the East Bay have spent their weekends searching for the missing teen.

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Search volunteer Marie Rankin of Pleasanton, who took part in the searches almost every weekend since 2012, told Patch she will continue to support the LaMar family as the case plays out.

“I committed to the search for Sierra LaMar, on June 30, 2012. I have participated in nearly every weekend search, since.

“The decision to formally end the 3-year search for Sierra must have been a difficult one to make for the LaMar family. Though this chapter is coming to an end, I know Team Sierra will continue to fully support the LaMars through the upcoming legal proceedings.

“As I reflect upon The Search, I am in awe of the community response.. (over 800 people joined searches early on) the vast geographical area we have walked, climbed, waded and macheted our way through ... multiple times. The quantity of team searches. The thought and planning that went into every assignment. To witness the countless number of individuals who care enough about a child they never met and who show up even for one day and how that was a gift to a suffering family. I am in awe of the determination, passion and commitment of our core group of 30 to Sierra and the LaMar family. I am in awe of the courage and unity of the LaMar family as Sierra’s story painfully unfolds before us all. For if what it took to bring Sierra home was..determination, passion, commitment, miles covered, ponds waded, numbers of people, hours donated, love of a missing daughter and sister, Sierra would be home.

“We have searched for three years with very limited information from the SCSO, due to the sensitive nature of Sierra’s case and their need to protect it. Team Sierra will be at the center as it closes and will gather again, when new facts are revealed. We have not given up and I still pray for the miracle of Sierra’s safe return.”

The FindSierraLaMar website has not yet been updated to reflect the suspension of the searches but does ask witnesses to come forward.

“Investigators are still asking to speak with anyone who may have seen the Red VW Jetta (with black hood - pictured), which is distinctive because it has black hood, or had contact with the occupants in the car in southern Santa Clara County around the time Sierra disappeared on the morning of March 16. She was last seen at her home in unincorporated Morgan Hill, located near Palm and Dougherty avenues.”


Bay City News contributed to this story.

Previous Patch coverage of the Sierra LaMar case:

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