NM NM - Jennifer Pentilla, 18, Deming, 17 Oct 1991

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Bumping up thread for Jennifer.

eu.demingheadlight.com

Pentilla case: 25 years unsolved

DEMING — Jennifer Lynn Pentilla was only 18 years old when she left on a bicycle mission trip to help those less fortunate in Mexico and never made the return journey home.
eu.demingheadlight.com
 
Could UP5273 or UP8385 be Jennifer? Both are in the area (one more east if the coordinates are right) and the PMI is said to be one year but the reamins are skeletal.
 
Details of disappearance updated:

Jennifer Lynn Pentilla – The Charley Project

Pentilla left her home in Missoula, Montana in late September 1991. She planned to travel to San Diego, California to meet with a missionary group.

Pentilla was in Las Cruces, New Mexico in mid-October 1991. She was riding her new white Fuji mountain bicycle and carrying her backpack, a sleeping bag, a tent and other camping gear, $450 in cash, two Bibles and books about Mexico. She had decided to bike to Mexico and work with another mission assisting the poor.

Pentilla called her mother in Montana eight times between October 1 and October 13 to report her trip's progress. She called home the last time on October 17 from Deming, New Mexico. She placed the call a pay phone from the Shell gas station on Main Street, which is no longer in operation. Pentilla said her next stop was Las Cruces, New Mexico.

She said she heard Mexico could be dangerous for a single woman traveling alone, so she had changed her plans. She was thinking of traveling to Minnesota to visit a friend instead. Pentilla's mother offered to pay for her transport to Minnesota or back home after she made more concrete plans, and Pentilla agreed to call her mother that evening with her decision. She never called back, never arrived at the friend's home and has not been heard from again.

Pentilla's camping gear, backpack, bicycle helmet and journals were discovered by hunters under a tree about a mile off State Road 26, seven miles from Hatch, New Mexico, in 1992, approximately one year from the time Pentilla had disappeared. The road leading up to that site is on a marked private hunting preserve and blocked by a fence and a locked gate. Hatch is approximately 46 miles northeast of Deming, New Mexico.

There has been no trace of Pentilla since that time, and her bicycle has never been found. The bike is described as a white Sundance Fuji bicycle with green lettering, a front battery-operated headlight, black saddlebags on the front and rear, Jennifer's aunt's name engraved on the underside, and the serial number F 9101771.

Multiple witnesses said they saw Pentilla with Jesus "Chuy" Vasquez on the day of her disappearance, after her call with her mother. Vasquez's ex-girlfriend stated she saw a leather bracelet on Vasquez that was similar to Pentilla's leather friendship bracelet, and when she asked Vasquez about it, he stopped wearing it. Vasquez later killed his brother in a fight and served four years in prison for manslaughter. He returned to the Deming area after his release.

Another person of interest in Pentilla's disappearance is Henry Apodaca, a farm laborer from Hatch who reportedly bragged about kidnapping Pentilla. Apodaca was never charged in her case, and died in 2011.

Pentilla is originally from Great Falls, Montana. She moved to Missoula, Montana shortly before beginning her travels in September 1991. Her mother stated she had previously traveled to as far as Africa with religious groups. Pentilla's case remains unsolved.

​

 
Jennifer's belongings were found 40 miles from Demming. It appears that she planned to camp there that night, but she took her bike, unweighted by her gear, to Hatch to get supplies. Whatever he happened to her, it probably happened during this trip. Chuy, the gas station guy, was the last person known to have interacted with her, but that doesn't mean he killed her. If she had done so, she would have dumped her body and her belongings in the desert near Demming, there would be no reason to go to Hatch or leave the team at a known "party spot." Chuy may not have been an angel, but it's unlikely he had anything to do with this.

Someone's memory of seeing her with farm workers in Hatch is something that could be a valid sighting but could also be mistaken identity or simply someone wanting to be part of the investigation. The bike wasn't expensive ($200 maybe), but it would have been worth keeping or trying to sell. I wonder if anyone at Hatch was hanging around during the first part of the investigation.

However, something a little strange is that "Chuy's ex-girlfriend, Amy Chavez, saw a leather bracelet on "Chuy" similar to Jennifer's, and when she mentioned it to him, he stopped wearing it." Of course, she's the ex-girlfriend, so there's no way to know how reliable her testimony is. However, I feel like we can't exclude Chuy. I have no idea how busy that gas station is or how many people work there, so how hard it would be for him to slip away or go unnoticed. However, is it possible that Jennifer left her belongings in the desert, thinking that she would return soon and camp there while she quickly went out to get some drinks or snacks from the gas station? I think that would make Chuy the most likely suspect? He maybe saw a couple of 100 bills in his wallet while he was paying....
either way
rest in peace
 
  • jennifer_lynn_pentilla_1.jpg
    jennifer_lynn_pentilla_2.jpg
    jennifer_lynn_pentilla_3.jpg
    pentilla_jennifer4.jpg
    jennifer_lynn_pentilla_4.jpg
Pentilla, circa 1991; Age-progressions to an unknown age


ncmissingpersons.org

Jennifer Pentilla – CUE – Community United Effort

ncmissingpersons.org ncmissingpersons.org


Jennifer Lynn Pentilla - New Mexico Missing Person Directory

Details and Pictures of Jennifer Lynn Pentilla, Missing since October 1991
www.missingin.org
 
Does she have any NamUs exclusions? Here are some Jane Doe's that are the closest I could find to Jennifer's description..
UP5273 (Location makes sense but age is slightly off and height is way off)
UP91578 (slightly outside of age range but the bracelets are interesting to me, I'd be interested to know the estimated year of death)
UP8385 (Age slightly off again, but everything else tracks)
UP1976 (broadened the search to other states and this was the only AZ entry that made sense to me)
UP7212 (her nose is very similar to Jennifer's but all the physical deformities are throwing me off)
 
AguaFlorida2001 said:
Does she have any NamUs exclusions? Here are some Jane Doe's that are the closest I could find to Jennifer's description..
UP5273 (Location makes sense but age is slightly off and height is way off)
UP91578 (slightly outside of age range but the bracelets are interesting to me, I'd be interested to know the estimated year of death)
UP8385 (Age slightly off again, but everything else tracks)
UP1976 (broadened the search to other states and this was the only AZ entry that made sense to me)
UP7212 (her nose is very similar to Jennifer's but all the physical deformities are throwing me off)
Click to expand...
Double checked NamUs and there are no additional exclusions listed. List is above in post #27. If you are unable to view them, let me know.
 
A lot of the links in this thread no longer work, so from I was able to read, I gathered the following. I'm not so sure Chuy did it, unless he moved her possessions later closer to Hatch ( she probably told him she was headed in that direction) to throw peoole off if/when they were found. Did he smoke? As for baby food, I don't know why that would have any connection to him. Perhaps Jennifer did eat baby food sometimes on her trip, as it was hard to eat normal food. Who knows. It seems that stuff might be from someone else than Chuy at least. Maybe Henry Apodaca did it, or maybe someone else.

I'd look into directions besides Chuy. Just because he killed his brother doesn't mean he also murdered Jennifer. I think if he had killed Jennifer, it would have been harder to cover up and there would have been more witnesses(I know there are supposedly some), unless they covered for him. Wasn't he supposed to be working? Who else was working or coming into work after he finished? I think more basic questions need to be asked before assuming it was Chuy who was responsible for her disapearence.

Jennifer sounds very naive and overly adventurous and too trusting, and she defintely seems to have ran into the wrong person or persons, whether Chuy or someone else. I doubt her death was accidental. The country looks pretty flat and the cigarette butts and food were found with her stuff, although perhaps the baby food was hers, and perhaps the cigarette butts were because of it being a teen party spot.
 
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