CA CA - Dora Marie Silva, 32, San Fernando, May 8, 1999

[Murkywaters]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Dora was last seen at approximately 23.00 at her residence in the vicinity of the 200 block of Lazard Street in San Fernando, CA. Her gray 1997 Chevrolet Astro van with a dark blue top, was later located abandoned on San Fernando, Mission Boulevard in Mission Hills, CA., two miles from the missing woman's home.

Residents told investigators the van had been parked on the street between late May 8 and early May 9. A woman recognized the van from a newspaper story. Friends and relatives said Silva has no history of disappearing or leaving unannounced. She has not contacted her extensive network of family and friends and coworkers. Police officers, sheriff's deputies and volunteers searched El Cariso Regional Park in Sylmar on May 22, 1999 but found no clues.

 

[Murkywaters]

Dora Marie Silva – The Charley Project

• Missing Since 05/08/1999
• Missing From San Fernando, California
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Date of Birth 07/31/1966 (53)
• Age 32 years old
• Height and Weight 5'3, 120 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Black hair, brown eyes. Silva has mole on her left cheek, a small mole below the right side of her eyebrow, and a small birthmark three-quarters of an inch below the left side of her lower lip. Her maiden name is Perez. Some agencies give her middle name as "Maria." Silva has several piercings in her ears.

Details of Disappearance
Silva was last seen leaving her family's residence in the vicinity of the 200 block of Lazard Street in San Fernando, California at approximately 11:00 p.m. on May 8, 1999. She was driving her dark blue and gray 1997 Chevrolet Astro van with a dark blue top and the California license plate number 3TICO34 at the time. Silva never returned home and has not been seen again.

Silva's vehicle was discovered abandoned on San Fernando and Mission Boulevard in Mission Hills, California some time after her disappearance. There was no sign of her at the scene.

Her family members said that it was very uncharacteristic for Silva to leave without contacting anyone. She is the mother of four children. Authorities suspect foul play was involved in her disappearance.

 

[Murkywaters]

Unsolved homicides weigh on San Fernando community – Daily News

One of them is that of Dora Marie Silva, a 32-year-old mother of four who went missing on Mother’s Day weekend in 1999. Police said Silva was last seen at 11 p.m. May 8 leaving her home in San Fernando. Her 1997 Chevy Astro van was later spotted 2 miles away in Mission Hills.

“That’s the case that sticks out for me, too,” Ballin said. She said she saw the young mother shopping at a local Rite Aid before she went missing. Foul play has been considered, Vairo said, because there were numerous searches in the days after Silva’s disappearance.

She remains missing and her case is considered a homicide, because her body has never been found. Her disappearance also raises a big question.

“What mother would leave her children on Mother’s Day?” Vairo asked. “That’s the kind of case that still haunts us.”

 

[Murkywaters]

LA's Most Wanted: Disappearance of Dora Marie Silva in 1999

(FOX 11) - Dora Marie Silva has been missing for 16 years.

On Mother's Day, May 8, 1999, the 32-year-old mom of three went for a drive and never returned. Her 1997 Chevrolet Astro van was found six days later.

Now that's she's been missing for 16 years, investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department surmise that Silva has been the victim of foul play.

Detectives hope that after all this time, someone with information about Ms. Silva's disappearance will finally break their silence.

The case is currently being handled by Detective Steve Lankford at (323) 890-5500.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Dora as we approach the 23rd anniversary of her disappearance...

Dora Marie Silva

 

[JSolt1210]

I wish more information were available on this case.

This LA Times article states that Dora "has no history of disappearing or leaving unannounced." So what reason did she give for leaving the house so late at night? Was she buying last-minute groceries? A Mother's Day gift? Was she meeting a friend?

Or was she accustomed to going out for late night drives? If so, could someone have noticed this pattern?

She was a mother of three, so who did she leave the children with? And, like Vairo above asked, “What mother would leave her children on Mother’s Day?”

The car was found two miles away in Mission Hills. Did she know anyone there?

The article also states that police "were conducting tests of the dark-blue and silver 1997 Chevrolet Astro van to determine if there were any signs of foul play." Did they find anything?

 

[Caring1]

Bump for Dora

4 Unidentified Person Exclusions