Found Deceased CA - Erika Lloyd, 37, car found vandalized near Twentynine Palms & Joshua Tree NP, 14 June 2020

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Believe most of the campers are RVs and travel trailers ( atvs) with people in groups that enjoy riding out there.
That's what made me wonder about dry camping in a car.. who the heck wants to sleep out there in a pup tent and sleeping bag in the desert !! JMO
Lots we don't know, so worried for Erika . Prayers for her to turn up and for her family this must be so hard on everyone. Am sure she didn't intend to put them through this.
Hard to get a timeline and track her movements the day she went missing. Hope LE has lots more to work with. MOO
 

Active search for missing Walnut Creek woman, Erika Lloyd at Joshua Tree National Park

June 24, 2020

Snipped...
...According to park rangers, who were patrolling the Jumbo Rock’s campground on Tuesday, spotted a vandalized black Honda Accord parked near number 47 and 48 campsite.

But the ranger said the security footage shows the vehicle leaving the park Tuesday night.

Read more: Active search for missing Walnut Creek woman, Erika Lloyd at Joshua Tree National Park - KESQ
 
What’s so bizarre is that she was very active on social media leading up to the trip. If the rumors we can’t discuss are true regarding social media it makes me think she may have just pretended to be as happy as she seemed in her content. I hope not but then the car damage is the wild card.
 

Active search for missing Walnut Creek woman, Erika Lloyd at Joshua Tree National Park

June 24, 2020

Snipped...
...According to park rangers, who were patrolling the Jumbo Rock’s campground on Tuesday, spotted a vandalized black Honda Accord parked near number 47 and 48 campsite.

But the ranger said the security footage shows the vehicle leaving the park Tuesday night.

Read more: Active search for missing Walnut Creek woman, Erika Lloyd at Joshua Tree National Park - KESQ
I just don’t understand this article. Her car was found on Tuesday yet this article says it was also found on footage leaving the campground Tuesday night? The first article to the thread said found on Monday? If anyone wants to summarize with days/dates that’d be great.
 
I’m not sure if this post was shared early on. It has a family commenting.

CHP - Morongo Basin
Missing person - Erika Lloyd, white female adult 37 years old. Her vehicle was found near State Route 62 east of 29 Palms area. If you have seen her or have any information regarding her whereabouts please call the Walnut Creek Police Department at (925) 935-6400 or the Morongo Basin CHP office at (760) 366-3707.

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Believe most of the campers are RVs and travel trailers ( atvs) with people in groups that enjoy riding out there.
That's what made me wonder about dry camping in a car.. who the heck wants to sleep out there in a pup tent and sleeping bag in the desert !! JMO
Lots we don't know, so worried for Erika . Prayers for her to turn up and for her family this must be so hard on everyone. Am sure she didn't intend to put them through this.
Hard to get a timeline and track her movements the day she went missing. Hope LE has lots more to work with. MOO

Me. I want to sleep out there in a tent and a sleeping bag (have done it many times) and many other people do as well. It's often impossible to find an available campsite at JTNP. While there are some RV campers, many people are tent campers. You cannot ride ATVs in the park. Outside the park, yes, but those people probably wouldn't camp in the park.
 
I'm confused on where her car was seen. I thought it was Indian Cove campground. Now I am reading Jumbo Rocks campground. Indian Cove is accessed from an outside road that goes to the campground. It's between the Joshua Tree entrance and the Twentynine Palms entrance. To access the Jumbo Rocks campground you would enter the park and drive quite a distance to reach the campground. There is no road that connects the two and they are very different parts of the park. I have camped at Indian Cove but not at Jumbo Rocks. That campground fills up quickly because it's in the heart of the park.
 
Dashboard damaged as in attempted radio theft?

I Google-drove the "campground", and as a Northerner, didn't take it to be a very inviting place to be. Between daytime highs, nighttime lows, and harsh rocky terrain, it doesn't strike me as someplace that I'd pass up Big Sur for.

Although it would have been hard to find a place to stay or camp in Big Sur. Hopefully, LE will eventually get her cell data. It's possible she went missing somewhere along the route - although going down Highway 1 to Joshua Tree is a very very long drive - most would have needed an overnight. I wonder if she was still in the car when it was seen going to JT.
 
So did they find her car vandalized at the campsite, see it on security footage driving out of the park, AND find it on the highway all on Tuesday? That most recent article posted above said these all happened Tuesday, but I thought rangers had found her car vandalized on Monday. And what time of day Tuesday was the car found on the highway? I am wondering if it's a mistake and it's meant to say it was found at the campsite Monday and then Monday night drove out of the park? I wish we had an accurate timeline.

I went to the JTNP official website and looked up info on the different campsites. Jumbo Rocks only requires reservations Sept-May. And nothing for Indian Cove is mentioned as far as reservations (it seems both campgrounds have been mentioned as to where her car was found vandalized). So is there no record of who has these campsites then? You can just show up and snag an empty one, but you don't have to sign a register or anything? Are they free?

It's odd too that they said in that most recent article that no camping equipment was found in or near the car. Where was it then? I am almost wondering if she never had any intention of camping in Joshua Tree. Perhaps something happened to her elsewhere and whoever did something to her was planning on just ditching her car at Joshua Tree. Of course, then you'd expect it to still be there. Maybe they stage it as a vandalized/burglarized vehicle? But that would seem to draw attention. And maybe they realized that so under cover of darkness, decided to come back and move the vehicle to dump elsewhere?

I don't know. This is so weird! And I am very concerned for Erika.
 
There's lots of hinky stuff in the desert at night. Anyone know if the parking area have lights at night ?
Believe car was called for tow on Tuesday. Believe found on Monday it's in news release up thread here.
No camping gear recovered .But we are not privy to what was found. This also in news release in this thread MOO.
YES timeline would be a huge help ! Many missing pieces here, making me crazy. And the clock is ticking :(
 
So did they find her car vandalized at the campsite, see it on security footage driving out of the park, AND find it on the highway all on Tuesday? That most recent article posted above said these all happened Tuesday, but I thought rangers had found her car vandalized on Monday. And what time of day Tuesday was the car found on the highway? I am wondering if it's a mistake and it's meant to say it was found at the campsite Monday and then Monday night drove out of the park? I wish we had an accurate timeline.

I went to the JTNP official website and looked up info on the different campsites. Jumbo Rocks only requires reservations Sept-May. And nothing for Indian Cove is mentioned as far as reservations (it seems both campgrounds have been mentioned as to where her car was found vandalized). So is there no record of who has these campsites then? You can just show up and snag an empty one, but you don't have to sign a register or anything? Are they free?

It's odd too that they said in that most recent article that no camping equipment was found in or near the car. Where was it then? I am almost wondering if she never had any intention of camping in Joshua Tree. Perhaps something happened to her elsewhere and whoever did something to her was planning on just ditching her car at Joshua Tree. Of course, then you'd expect it to still be there. Maybe they stage it as a vandalized/burglarized vehicle? But that would seem to draw attention. And maybe they realized that so under cover of darkness, decided to come back and move the vehicle to dump elsewhere?

I don't know. This is so weird! And I am very concerned for Erika.

They are not free. You are supposed to fill out a form, but it's just your name and address and license plate. I don't think anyone checks them. Then you tear off part of the pay envelope and attach it to a post at your campsite. Rangers do daily checks to make sure everyone has paid.

It would be easy for someone to have stolen her car and use that plate number and a fake name, at least in terms of that system. The area right outside the park, well, I wouldn't go there alone whether man or woman and stay the night, and I've felt that way for years. I think it's much safer for a pair of people and much safer inside the park. Almost immediately adjacent to the 29 Palms/JT area is BLM land which, if you're with a group or have an RV, is okay (I guess). But it is free and there are tons of squatters and scofflaws out there - and it's a place people on the run can go. Always has been, IMO.
 
Really wonder if anyone saw her on her way from Walnut Creek to JT? She had to stop for gas or getting something to eat. When was the last time she was actually seen? From what I have read there have been no sightings in Joshua Tree.

I am not that family with Joshua Tree as I am not a camper. Have driven alone many times from Orange County to Palm Desert region or to Arizona by myself. The desert is not the safest area for women traveling alone.
 

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