Found Deceased CA - Lauren Cho, 30, from NJ was visiting for 2 mos, Morongo Valley, 28 Jun 2021

Welcome to Websleuths!
Click to learn how to make a missing person's thread

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves

New Posts

She may have needed to be identified by DNA simply because her teeth were "perfect". I cannot imagine that there are going to be any meaningful toxicology results on remains that have spent 4 summer months the low desert. What they will find is traces of long term alcohol and probably recreational drug use. It doesn't really reveal anything about the actual circumstances of death but it is typical of how authorities characterize decedents living alternative lifestyles and offer the public something resembling answers.

I have to agree completely with @Vail that despite us wanting be able to say "this is why she died" there are some cases, especially among people living more freely, that it may be impossible to say for sure and there may not even be one truth without being able to know the mind of another.

For example, and this is purely hypothetical not even speculative, but for example if someone very depressed gets excessively intoxicated with/by a person who has reason to be angry with them and then goes off into the wilderness where they die from a combination of toxicity and exposure is it an accident? Suicide? Negligence? Murder? It's not really clear and it never would be.
 
PoppySleuth said:
I want to see what the hyoid bone of the remains have to say. Exposure is most likely out of the question. What puzzles me is the actual timeline. They get into an argument around 2-3 pm. She storms off with no water (leaving it in her car that is right there) and is gone until 5 when they call the cops. I don't know about you, but after an argument there is always cooling off time. People need to chill and take time. 2 hours seems an ok amount. Even in that heat, and there are buildings all along the roads out there including MANY other properties within an easy walks distance. WHY would the Sheriffs be called so soon unless to you KNOW shes going to be missing for a lot longer. Not trying to be all conspiracy theorist here, but it doesn't add up. And to not feed your bird before?
Click to expand...

Why is exposure out of the question? Seems to be the most obvious answer. People get agitated and storm off - a lot. Without any supplies, and it's a very very harsh environment out there. Especially at. that time of day.

I would call LE immediately if a family member stormed off in an environment like that (especially a more stubborn or vulnerable family member).

She was very very upset. It's really. hard to "chill" when it's 115-120 in the sun (keep in mind that the temps that are recorded are...in the shade). This was near-lethal heat - and in a very short time, she could have been down. She wasn't in the frame of mind to seek help. She was in distress.
 
Ravenmoon said:
I lived there for 21 years.
I am not at all certain about how she died.
I am open minded where that is concerned.

People magazine quotes the San Bernardino County Sherriff's Department as saying,

"On Sunday, the Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said they found "unidentified human remains" in "the rugged terrain of the open desert of Yucca Valley."

That is NOT a residential area close to the open Highway.

AMOO MOO JMO

EBM to add that I was leaning toward exposure first and foremost.
Wasn't totally sold on murder or suicide.

EBM again to add..your distance to the highway is closer than what I originally thought. Even so, walking in that terrain( it is dirt roads) in the heat can be quickly disorienting. Open desert does not imply a residential neighborhood. So, even with the mistake made in distance, I stand by my post.
Click to expand...

I think it's a form of suicide and I know several people who have tried the same method - and a couple were successful. Interesting thing about heat stroke is that one of the symptoms is euphoria...
 
10ofRods said:
I think it's a form of suicide and I know several people who have tried the same method - and a couple were successful. Interesting thing about heat stroke is that one of the symptoms is euphoria...
Click to expand...

If that is what occurred, it makes me feel deeply saddened.

What I am about to say is my opinion based on observations.

The area that El was living in , desiring to establish a new life and hoping to make her dreams turn to reality is a place that tests anyone living there.
In the past 5 years, The Morongo Basin has drawn people from all over the world. Of course, it has always held a kind of dreaminess to it- people romanticize the National monument , the group U2 fell in love with it- Graham Parsons is said to haunt a hotel( I won't get into the entire story) in Joshua Tree, gurus from all over visit Giant Rock , The Integratron and wait for alien life form to show up. This area is what MANY people believe to be a fresh beginning. A fairytale. For some, they will adjust to the difficulties of life there quickly- for others- there is NO adjusting, and that can be devastating.

I lived there for 21 years. I left 5 months ago because of the onslaught of Air B and B into our residential neighborhoods, and because the area itself was becoming unrecognizable. It took me about 2 years to appreciate the area and all that it was.

For people coming in that are new and coming from places with solid infrastructure, typical amenities (and access to them) and expectations of grandeur- most are disappointed to find out that there are only 2 ways in and 2 ways out of the Basin- and the main way in and out are often backed up for hours by visitors. The electric and internet are in and out with regularity. The coyotes will hop a fence and gleefully take off with small pets . (Not their fault , they are surviving) What likely "bugged " them - ants and flies- has added to that list : scorpions, rattlesnakes, woodrats and tarantulas. And YES, they will get inside of your house and garage. The basin is in a wind tunnel, and it gets NASTY. Your eyes, your nose , your ears fill up with dirt. Being outside during a Haboob is SCARY. Damage to property and power lines is common . Soemtimes, there is a feeling of being isolated if you don't find your tribe.

Finding the difficulties as opposed to the wonders can cause people to feel that they have failed when they made the choice to "sell it all" and move to this wonderland. I truly hope that this did not happen to El, she wasn't there long.It takes time and effort to understand the place and the people that live there.

AMOO JMO MOO
 
evilwise said:
Isn't it kind of a fundamental geographic feature of a basin having at most two ways out?
Click to expand...

I honestly don't know the answer to that.
What I can say is this- the way that 90 percent of people use is a road directly connected to the 10 FWY. This road provides the quickest and most easy access to the low desert- Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Coachella to the East- and San Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles County to the West. If one were to use the other route- It is OWS( Old Woman Springs Road- aka the 247.) This road is a longhigh desert road that connects to areas like Victorville and Lucerne Valley. It is also the "back road" to Big Bear Lake( Which was my favorite because of the lack of traffic.) This road really goes on for miles and does not have easy access to places that people would likely want or need to access.

There is ONE more route that can be used through the Monument itself- but, unless you are planning a visit to the monument, there would be almost no reason for someone to take it. There is no facilities for gas, water, etc. throughout it , and it is wilderness.

When we moved away, Friday through Monday the route coming through the 10 fwy to the 62 were normally backed up for an hour and a half to three hours. If you were a commuter, you had to add that time to what was already likely an hour or more . It was frustrating and could be dangerous. For anyone curious, look up hwy 62 and fatal accidents (or even just injury accidents). The reality of that is pretty eye opening.



AMOO MOO JMO
 
evilwise said:
Isn't it kind of a fundamental geographic feature of a basin having at most two ways out?
Click to expand...

Well, Death Valley is a giant basin and has about 4 ways in and out (two of them over mountains). Los Angeles is basically in a giant basin itself.

Los Angeles Basin - Wikipedia

I think the point is that people who move out towards Yucca Valley/surroundings do not realize that there's going to be a lot of weekend (and commuter weekeday) traffic. They rent an AirBnB with pictures of wide open spaces and get there to find that at times, it doesn't look that way at all and there's a lot of sitting in traffic. Or enduring sandstorms.

But El's mental distress is the key factor in her disappearance and death. Many people have a tendency to bolt from an unpleasant situation or fight with a friend or partner, and it's often not a good strategy - whether in the desert or not. The only way her death could have been prevented was for someone to follow her and keep tabs on her and keep trying to get her to come back to safety. And that someone would have needed to be very prepared for weather, as well.
 
The coroner’s reports were available upon request. It seems like the toxicology returned an awful lot of Xanax in her system. One of the friends said that she wasn’t a drinker, and when she took the bottle of tequila with her, they knew she had a purpose for it and suspected she had taken pills along with it… it appears that was the case. It’s just a sad case of someone with a long history of suicidal thoughts finally snapping and marching off to sit down somewhere and swallow a bunch of pills… honestly, the real controversy here should be focused on why it took the police so long to find her when she was hardly that far away.
 

Attachments

PaperDoll77 said:
The coroner’s reports were available upon request. It seems like the toxicology returned an awful lot of Xanax in her system. One of the friends said that she wasn’t a drinker, and when she took the bottle of tequila with her, they knew she had a purpose for it and suspected she had taken pills along with it… it appears that was the case. It’s just a sad case of someone with a long history of suicidal thoughts finally snapping and marching off to sit down somewhere and swallow a bunch of pills… honestly, the real controversy here should be focused on why it took the police so long to find her when she was hardly that far away.
Click to expand...
Sad news, but thank you for the reports and welcome to Websleuths!
RIP El.
 
PaperDoll77 said:
The coroner’s reports were available upon request. It seems like the toxicology returned an awful lot of Xanax in her system. One of the friends said that she wasn’t a drinker, and when she took the bottle of tequila with her, they knew she had a purpose for it and suspected she had taken pills along with it… it appears that was the case. It’s just a sad case of someone with a long history of suicidal thoughts finally snapping and marching off to sit down somewhere and swallow a bunch of pills… honestly, the real controversy here should be focused on why it took the police so long to find her when she was hardly that far away.
Click to expand...
IMO I can see why it took police so long. Not the urgent demo to them
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Fairfield County Jane Doe (1993)?

Members online

... and 164 more.
Total: 2,159 (members: 165, guests: 1,994)

Online statistics

Members online
165
Guests online
1,994
Total visitors
2,159
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
606,668
Messages
18,207,875
Members
233,925
Latest member
shachio8485
Back
Top