Home > Crime > Police Find Cell Phone Of Teen Last Seen Walking To School Bus Stop

Police Find Cell Phone Of Teen Last Seen Walking To School Bus Stop

March 21, 2012 at 8:10 am by Morbid

MORGAN HILL, CA - Police have located the cell phone belonging to Sierra Lamar, the 15-year-old who went missing after walking to her bus stop last Friday morning.

Lamar was first reported missing by her family when she failed return home from school and then later found to have never attended school that day at all. The bus driver stated they never saw Lamar that morning.

That weekend, police search nearby creek beds and fields. Police dogs were also used in an attempt to track Lamar’s movements that morning, but they lost her scent at her driveway.

On Sunday, police found her cell phone in a field a few miles from her home by tracking its electronic ping. They are now looking at the phone’s contents as well as her laptop. Her Twitter and Facebook accounts have not been used since the day she went missing.

On Tuesday, police went door to door in Lamar’s neighborhood and are checking up on 276 registered offenders in the area. Her father, Steve Lamar, has a sex crime conviction but been cleared in his daughter’s disappearance.

Later that evening, 400 people gathered to attend a candlelight vigil for the teen.

Police have the case listed as a missing person, not an abduction, but her sister says there’s no way her sister ran away.

“She’s always in contact with family and friends. She wouldn’t leave everyone out of the loop,” Danielle Lamar said.

Sierra Lamar is described as 5-feet, 2 inches tall, with brown hair. She was last seen carrying a pink and black purse.

Anyone with information about Lamar is being asked to call Santa Clara County communications at (408) 299-2311. They can also contact the sheriff’s investigators at (408) 808-4500 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431. Tips can also be emailed totips@sheriff.sccgov.org.

Gorgeous girl. Thank God my teen daughter was a late-bloomer and looked like this at 15-years-old. Never worried much about her being abducted, but I did spend an awful lot of time helping her remove ear tags.

Tags: California, Crime, Missing Person, Sierra Lamar

44 Comments

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Pyncky

I fear this is not going to end well,
sugarpie

Praying she is okay. How do you let them become independent and protect them at the same time.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XKMAEMPVJ5T2Y35HKYTNG7I6SY Cedric

Very pretty girl … I hope she just ran away – but I don’t know many teens who would willingly part with their cell phone.
http://www.facebook.com/JellyBellyMomma Kimberly Hanselman

I cannot stop looking at that one yellow tooth!

On a serious note, I really hope she is found safe. I fear that chances are slim, however. I hope I’m wrong.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XKMAEMPVJ5T2Y35HKYTNG7I6SY Cedric

That’s just bad lighting – she has perfect teeth.
PlaysWithBalls

She is a very gorgeous girl, and she doesn’t look even close to 15. Unfortunately I don’t think all the -good vibes/prayers/whatever you believe in- in the world could make this have a good outcome.
PlaysWithBalls

I thought the same thing. It seems like she could have just had someone pick her up from her house, but once you get to the cell phone bit, it goes downhill fast.
http://twitter.com/AngelsMom0806 Angels Mom

I am so mad at myself for clicking “Morbids daughter’s” link. When I was ready to leave a serious comment that damn thing made me fall out laughing.
CT

Is that from Mad magazine? I’m dating myself with that reference but that is what I thought of when I saw it. I need to think of something else today so that I don’t bust out laughing at an inappropriate time. My mind leaves me often and goes off into weirdness when I get bored – which is about 50% of my work day. Having this pic now in my thoughts is not going to help me.
JohnQknowitall

I am just sickened by what happened to her the day of her disappearance. I can only imagine what is going through her family’s mind. The only thing worse than a loved ones death, is worrying and wondering if the loved one is alive and safe.
Andy P

I think you are probably right. =(
JGo555

@Morbid:disqus YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER!?
JGo555

This sounds like a crime of opportunity and I hope to GOd they find her alive since we already had another girl this past week taken from us.
steelpin

276 sex offenders in the area thats why i think they all should have to live in one area that why they can be watched.
Lena60

So sad, everytime I get online, there is another teen missing it seems.I hope for the best, but I feel this is not going to be the case here
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=534372011 Georgia Meyer

She is gorgeous and doesn’t look vaguely 15 (What the hell is in our food these days?!). I agree, I don’t think she would have ditched her cell phone. Her family must be a mess, this is the scariest thing I can think of, because not knowing and being left to think is worse than just knowing. I hope someone finds her, or lets her go, or that she really did just take off.
DangerousKindOfSnark

That’s what it seemed like to me. Why would the dogs loose her scent at the foot of her driveway? I hope she didn’t decide to trust the wrong person.
LeaveMeBe

I’m wondering if she takes after him or her mother…
LeaveMeBe

You do the best you can to teach them, then cross your fingers, strap yourself in using the lap bar and harness and hold on for dear life during the most wonderfully terrifying, joyfully dizzying, crazy-inducing and exhilarating time of your life as a parent of a teenager.

Thats what I did anyway.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XKMAEMPVJ5T2Y35HKYTNG7I6SY Cedric

They already have a place like what you mention – it’s called Prison.
derae

You know, we used to have leper colonies because the disease was so easily spread and had no treatment and the risk to the general public was great. When they found how to treat it, the colonies became obsolete. So why can’t we colonize sex offenders? I don’t know about the rest of you but I am DAMN tired of seeing children hurt, molested, abused, and killed because of sexual predators.
Texas Ranger

Damn Morbid. “but I did spend an awful lot of time helping her remove ear tags” That’s effin funny, I don’t care who you are.

Very sad story though.
steelpin

i’m with u i’m sick and tired of it too.f–k it lets just shoot all
http://twitter.com/AngelsMom0806 Angels Mom

It does kind of have a Mad magazine look to it doesn’t it?
derae

Problem with prison is that they are usually general released back into the general population. They need to be kept out of the general population. Too many that are released commit the same offense again.
ViewerBeware

This poor family. I wonder if it was a boyfriend or some other friend who did this. The reason I say that is because the scent disappears at the end of the driveway, which to me says she hopped in a car, which means she knew the person. In cases like this, when they catch the fuckwad who comitted the crime, they should allow the family to have at em, if the family doesn’t do it then they should let random community members. I’d sign up to help.

Anyone know the timeline for these cases? Isn’t it something like the first 24 hours are critical to finding a live person and then drop exponentially afterward?
http://profiles.google.com/coldlogic HAL 9000

Too many dopers hogging cells from our little Drug Wars, so the pedos have to be let out I guess. Better your daughter not see a guy smoking a joint than getting raped seems to be the legal moral of our age.
onlyme356

That’s awful, if this girl is dead I’d hate to imagine what she went through. I hope she’s alive and can escape whatever situation she’s in…
http://profile.yahoo.com/WA5VWIUXLATF4TSO33FJUFRID4 Maggie

This scares the shit out of me. I have a fourteen year old who looks at least 17. I keep tabs on her, but sometimes, you have to let them out of your sight for a minute. I don’t have a good feeling about this. I hope she decided to take a break from life or something, and is found safe and sound, but I don’t see it happening.
http://truecrimereport.com iLLusionS

It sucks that yet again a teen missing.. And I am falling right in line with thinking that originally I may have said she possibly left willingly..but then there lies the cellphone. Not attached to her hand as the case with most all teens…Never a good thing.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=534372011 Georgia Meyer

They found a bag of her clothes today. This is bad. Read the article, 200 plus sex offenders in the town, including her own father (who has been cleared). Sometimes the idea of moving my children to the top of a mountain doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.
Califboy

I don’t see 216 , but more like 40, 40 too many, go here – http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/
Califboy

I say we use them for human harvesting. There are thousands of descent people that need organs and surgery from auto accidents, industrial accidents, soldiers.
Fuck them assholes, feed them real good to get them healthy, and part their asses out.
chgplz

Your so right, it seems everyday there is a new case of a girl ,woman,or child vanished.
colliefreak

This is her twitter account: https://twitter.com/#!/cccairuh
& her blog:
http://cccairuh.tumblr.com/
Maybe a stalker?
whisperswing

Sierra LaMar Missing: Handcuff Box And Condoms Found During Search

Volunteers searching for clues in the disappearance of California teenager Sierra LaMar discovered a handcuff box and used condoms about a mile from where she had likely been abducted.
The items were found Thursday afternoon by a volunteer associated with the KlaasKids Foundation, said a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff.
“We did collect [the items] as possible evidence because of the nature of the items and [because they were found] close to Sierra’s mom’s house,” Sgt. Jose Cardoza told The Huffington Post.
The items were found at the end of Palm Avenue, which is about a mile from where Morgan Hill, Calif., resident LaMar was supposed to board the school bus the day she disappeared. The handcuff box was empty and the used condoms were found about 5 feet away, according to Cardoza.”It was a small box. It had a label on it that said ‘stainless steel handcuffs,’” Cardoza said. “There are a handful of manufacturers that make them. The [professional ones] all come in rectangular cardboard boxes as this one was [but] even some knockoff brands come in a cardboard box as well.”
The location where the cuffs and condoms were found had been twice previously searched by law enforcement officials, meaning either the items had been overlooked or deposited after those searches had been conducted.
While the handcuff box might be an unusual find, Cardoza said it would not be considered out of the ordinary to find used condoms in that area.
“It is not uncommon for sheriff’s deputies to find underage drinking and that kind of activity in that area,” he said.
Authorities said they will not know the significance of the finds until they are examined by forensic experts. The items are, however, considered potential evidence at this point.
If the handcuffs and condoms were not “something investigators did not find important they would have left those items there,” Cardoza said.
[...]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/sierra-lamar-search_n_1391955.html?ref=crime
whisperswing

Sierra LaMar Missing: California Teen May Have Been Abducted By Experienced Sex Offender
Sierra LaMar may have been abducted possibly by an experienced sex offender based on clues police have found so far, a crime expert told The Huffington Post.
“I think at this stage, since this guy probably feels he was successful in getting away with it, he will do it again,” said Harold Copus, a retired FBI agent who is not involved with the LaMar case but has worked hundreds of homicide and missing-person cases.
[...]

The following day, the sheriff’s office found a purse and a backpack containing clothing belonging to LaMar about 2 miles from her bus stop — and a mile from where investigators recovered her cellphone. Forensic examinations of the items have not revealed any new leads.
Because LaMar does not have a history of running away and has a close relationship with her family, authorities suspect she was abducted. But, police have no suspects and no persons of interest at this time.
“All bets are off at this stage … We are looking at the worst-case scenario here,” said Copus, now head of Copus Security Consultants in Atlanta.
[...]
Copus’ agency has been involved in several high-profile cases and was hired by the “Dr. Phil” show to investigate the unsolved 2005 disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
“I understand this is horrible for the parents to accept, but I just do not see this being a case like Elizabeth Smart,” Copus added.
Smart was 14 in 2002, when she was kidnapped from her home. She was rescued nine months later and told police she was threatened and raped daily while she was held captive. Her abductor, Brian David Mitchell, was later found guilty of kidnapping and sexual assault. In May 2011, he was sentenced to two life-terms in federal prison.
Since LaMar’s disappearance, authorities have investigated more than 1,200 tips and have invested roughly 7,500 personnel hours in the case, with support from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.
The most recent discovery in the case was made late last month, when volunteers searching for clues discovered a handcuff box and used condoms. The items were found about a mile from where the Morgan Hill teen was supposed to board the school bus the day she disappeared. The handcuff box was empty and the used condoms were found about 5 feet away. Forensic testing on the items has not yet been completed, according to police.
Investigators said they will be broadening the search for clues this week.
“The sheriff’s office … will be sending out deputies on motor dirt bikes later this week to canvass remote/rural areas in south Santa Clara County areas,” said Sgt. Jose Cardoza, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/sierra-lamar-missing-california_n_1418763.html?ref=crime
whisperswing

Car Linked to Sierra LaMar Disappearance Found

A red Volkswagen Jetta connected to the disappearance of 15-year-old Sierra LaMar is now in custody of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s department.
Authorities found the mid-90s four door red sedan with a black hood after releasing pictures of a similar vehicle on Monday, according to Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jose Cardoza. However, investigators are not disclosing specifics of how they identified the car and its connection to the case.
The vehicle came to the attention of authorities after it was captured on multiple surveillance videos in the area of the missing cheerleader’s Morgan Hill, Calif., home and the area where authorities recovered the teen’s belongings. Sgt. Cardoza said investigators have been unable to recognize specific person(s) in the vehicle from the videos.
With the vehicle is in custody, authorities are asking the public to report any sightings of the vehicle and/or possible occupants at the time of the girl’s disappearance. They are interested in speaking to anyone who may have come in contact with the car or occupants in the month of March.
[....]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/05/car-linked-to-sierra-lamar-disappearance-found/
http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/ Dakota Valkyrie

The car that may have been used to abduct 15-year-old Sierra Lamar seven weeks ago was found and is currently in custody, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

The car is a 1990s red Volkswagen Jetta with a black sunroof and black hood, Sheriff’s Sgt. Jose Cardoza said.
[...]

Investigators refused to say when or where they found the Jetta.

Yesterday, Cardoza said witnesses and video surveillance images helped
identify a suspicious car and driver that were in Sierra’s neighborhood
the morning she disappeared.

Sierra’s mother, Marlene LaMar, said the car is the kind of solid lead and glimmer of hope 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.

On Tuesday, dive teams were searching private ponds and reservoirs in Morgan Hill.

http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/hollister-gilroy/Suspected-Sierra-Lamar-abductor-s-car-found-by-investigators/-/5738758/12854868/-/yn1iyj/-/index.html
thehesbomb

Pretty racy stuff for a 15-year old…makes me wonder about her home life.
whisperswing

Is Sierra LaMar alive? More Updates in Case

Police believe Sierra LaMar may still be alive, and the car in their
possession is going through forensic testing in this latest update. It’s a
surprise to hear that the missing Morgan Hill cheerleader may still be alive
somewhere, but is she missing willingly or the captive of an abductor?

[...]

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981321449
http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/ Dakota Valkyrie

A 21-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with one count of murder and one count of kidnapping Monday in connection with the disappearance of Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar, according to authorities.

KTVU confirmed Monday evening that Santa Clara sheriff’s deputies were holding 21-year-old Antolin Garcia-Torres in custody as a suspect in the case.

Garcia-Torres, a resident of San Martin, is the owner of the red VW Jetta that authorities sought and seized in connection with the case on May 8th.

Garcia-Torres was being questioned about the disappearance of the 15-year old girl from Morgan Hill.

Shortly after 10 p.m. when KTVU broke the story, officials confirmed that Garcia-Torres was booked on one charge of murder and one charge of kidnapping.
[...]

Sources said there is some DNA evidence linking Garcia-Torres to the clothing found in Sierra LaMar’s backpack.

We have also been told that Garcia-Torres has been under around-the-clock surveillance since he was identified, including at his job and at his San Martin home.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/suspect-taken-custody-sierra-la-mar-case/nPBX3/
http://twitter.com/tinalib13 Tina Wech

So sorry to hear this news. Kinda figured it would end up this way unfortunately.
whisperswing

Antolin Garcia-Torres’ Sister Says He Didn’t Kidnap And Kill Sierra Lamar

Relatives of a missing California teenager and the suspect arrested in connection with her disappearance and probable killing said yesterday that they hope police have made mistakes in the investigation.
A day after the Santa Clara County sheriff arrested Antolin Garcia-Torres on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering Sierra Lamar, his sister said police busted the wrong man.
[...]
“It’s not him,” Lucero Garcia said to the San Jose Mercury News, about her 21-year-old brother.
Garcia-Torres’ DNA allegedly matched evidence recovered from a bag that belonged to LaMar and was found on the side of a road after the 15 year old vanished in March.
“I honestly feel they don’t have enough evidence to convict him,” Garcia said to the Mercury News.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/23/antolin-garcia-torres-sister_n_1539577.html?ref=crime