Found Deceased CA - Maricela Garcia, 26, Reseda, 12 Jan 2017 #1

[Dixie811]

You are awesome Mistivon!

So, if Maricela was trying to evade someone at the time she entered the church, it just doesn't make sense to me that she would have left the building and/or not asked for help from the ladies inside. Especially given that she was catholic, Maricela would have seen church as a refuge. Perhaps more importantly, she would have known that the church would have had many places to hide. She could have hidden herself or asked the ladies for a place to hide and for them to call for help.
I feel that either she was not being directly pursued at that time, did not want to reach out for help for a particular reason (illegal drugs?), or was having a mental health problem.

 

[Myssij]

On the phone thing, what if she dropped it, still intact. Random person finds it, can't get into it, smashes it in frustration and takes the only removable parts? The destruction and the missing battery and sim card have zero to do with the disappearance. Just a thought I had....

 

[Vail]

I keep going back to her secret and what it could be.

I would first like some clarification on one thing - one comment made said she was being threatened by a coworker, but then the family answered mistvon's questionnaire to say she had no contact with coworkers or had no coworkers, as postmates is an app. Which is it?

I think her secret ties into her past. First, how is LE so sure the ex is not involved? If he kidnapped her once, he is the most likely person to do it again.
Second, has anyone taken the plunge and checked out backpage for her? I don't think her secret was a relapse into addiction - since her sister and her are very close and her sister already knows about her past addiction, a relapse just doesn't seem to fit here.
If she had been raped, gotten involved in prostitution or hooked up with a sugar daddy that was threatening her - that could easily be a secret worth being scared about. I also fear she may have witnessed something.

Was Maricela's ex or anyone she used to associate with involved in gang activity? Exploring all options...

 

[Paddleboarder]

On the Find Mari FB page in the statements thanking the 24/7 K9 search team. Maybe I misunderstood?...

I think it was just the wording...I don't believe keys were found.


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[mbison]

What's the traffic like at Lindley and Sherman at that hour? Would a diagnol crossing be dangerous? Maybe somebody saw her from their car.

 

[skibaboo]

Why aren't the cops all over this? That dumpster needs to be forensically examined asap and surveillance cameras need to be subpoenaed!

Misti you are AMAZING!

 

[AngelaH]

I keep going back to her secret and what it could be...

Vail - I keep thinking about this as well. I think it has something to do with her disappearance. The fact she was trying to stay so close to her sister as stated much earlier makes me think she was afraid of someone or possibly knew she would be leaving in the near future. Someone or something spooked her that day.

 

[thekarmabus]

Vail - I keep thinking about this as well. I think it has something to do with her disappearance. The fact she was trying to stay so close to her sister as stated much earlier makes me think she was afraid of someone or possibly knew she would be leaving in the near future. Someone or something spooked her that day.

What if she was protecting her sister. That she was staying by her side not because she feared her own fate but that someone threatened her sister's fate as well unless M cooperated with them. Would make sense why she left the store if she was spooked ... distance herself from sister but knew if she told anyone her sister would be in danger.


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[Inthedetails]

Mistivon, you are AMAZING!! We've seen you go from novice to expert in ten seconds flat. AMAZING.

A few things come to mind:

* Perhaps she saw someone in the GW and that is what prompted her to leave. Maybe someone she was afraid of, or maybe someone she wanted to see privately (for whatever reason, but I'm thinking to score drugs). Is there video from the store that day where you can watch OTHER customers, not just her? Did she follow someone else out?

* Befriend the priest/pastor from the church. Maybe he can ask the stores to help with the videos. Pastors sometimes have good connections with local businesses and with local police. And, he might have connections with the local homeless and drug community as well. If you haven't talked to him, I recommend it.

* I'm wondering if she dropped her phone and then was retracing steps to try to find it? That probably makes things more complicated and is a long shot, but just an idea.

* Definitely push for forensics on those dumpsters. That is a scary thought, but one we are all having - that she ended up in a dumpster.

* When she was in the scary side of the parking lots, perhaps she made a drug score, went to church from some strength not to use it but wasn't able to resist temptation, and then went to the far parking lot to use the drugs out of sight of her sister? But...then what?

I am at a loss as to what happened, but it's not seeming voluntary.

Wow! What a story about the search dogs. I'm encouraged to hear they provided leads to follow.

 

[GigTu]

mistivon, can we get a timeline for about two whole weeks before that day. No detail is too small. The secret.... What led up to that, that scared her so much she hugged her sister and slept with her for 2 days?

She smoked at least 2 cigarettes out by her car, right? Did the dogs follow her scent to the car before following her down the strip mall, to Jon's, then the church?

Has her room at home been searched? She might have left a note or clue somewhere.

Her behavior out behind Jon's is the part I can't stop thinking about. That's where her smashed phone was found. That's where she spent a few minutes "hanging". After that, her steps became erratic and desperate.

Something in my gut says her SIM card is somewhere in that church.

 

[mbison]

Based on the video and dog route, I'm skeptical that she smoked any cigarettes. In the video, it looks like she took a pretty deliberate left turn. Perhaps she knew somebody who she viewed as a threat within the goodwill, and the cigarette story was made up. Could she have followed the route she did to intentionally lead one or more threatening people away from her sister? Stopping along the way to make sure the person or persons were still following her?

Still leaves open the question how a threatening person ended up at her location. Perhaps tailed their car along the side streets? Regardless, I'd like to see the next few minutes of video at the goodwill to see who else left the store and turned left.

 

[mst]

This is just a theory......what are the chances that she got in too deep with a dealer and owed them alot? He told her, you are going to come with me and work, or ill kill you or your family. you are to meet me at such and such time behind the medical building. Perhaps there is a good spot back there to park a car by the dumpsters and not be seen by passer bys.

It seems to me that someone could not have forced her on the route that she took. What abductor would allow for a church stop? I think she knew this was going to happen which is why she told her sister she had a secret.

This is all speculation of course. I am hoping and praying for her safe return

 

[katydid23]

I can see where she would remove the battery and SIM card from her phone if she's trying to hide. I can also see an abductor doing the same thing. However, someone that's having a bad drug experience or a mental break is less likely to take the time to deal with this type of detail.


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From my experience, with a mentally ill brother, he did often think of strange tiny details. Phones and radios made him extremely nervous. He was very paranoid about that type of thing and often took them apart, or submerged them in water, if he thought he was being tracked by his imaginary enemies. I am not saying it was the case here, just saying that I have seen it in mental health crisis situations.

 

[mbison]

This is just a theory......what are the chances that she got in too deep with a dealer and owed them alot? He told her, you are going to come with me and work, or ill kill you or your family. you are to meet me at such and such time behind the medical building. Perhaps there is a good spot back there to park a car by the dumpsters and not be seen by passer bys.

It seems to me that someone could not have forced her on the route that she took. What abductor would allow for a church stop? I think she knew this was going to happen which is why she told her sister she had a secret.

This is all speculation of course. I am hoping and praying for her safe return

I think the critical piece of information pushing us away from theories like that is the seemingly spontaneous decision to go to that goodwill store. May be worth double-checking with the sister that they really just randomly decided to go to a thrift store, and the store they ended up at was provided by map software rather than a specific choice on Maricela's part.

 

[thekarmabus]

Based on the video and dog route, I'm skeptical that she smoked any cigarettes. In the video, it looks like she took a pretty deliberate left turn. Perhaps she knew somebody who she viewed as a threat within the goodwill, and the cigarette story was made up. Could she have followed the route she did to intentionally lead one or more threatening people away from her sister? Stopping along the way to make sure the person or persons were still following her?

Still leaves open the question how a threatening person ended up at her location. Perhaps tailed their car along the side streets? Regardless, I'd like to see the next few minutes of video at the goodwill to see who else left the store and turned left.

Agreed! I would ask for the GW video for the entire time she was in store showing who walked in and then after she left..would also be an exact time of when sister left and started to
Look


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[GigTu]

I think the critical piece of information pushing us away from theories like that is the seemingly spontaneous decision to go to that goodwill store. May be worth double-checking with the sister that they really just randomly decided to go to a thrift store, and the store they ended up at was provided by map software rather than a specific choice on Maricela's part.

Maybe she knew she needed to go to the Kaiser parking lot on Sherman, but she had to look up the closest GW to it. In my gut, I don't think this is the case though. I think she ended up at those dumpsters by happen chance. It really depends on what was found in the area during the search. LE may not want that info to get out.

What types of items was she mailing out on a regular basis? Is there any way to hack her app account to see what, where, and who things were mailed to? Maybe she was mailing illegal stuffs. Did she keep records? What was the point of these mailings?

 

[mbison]

Maybe she knew she needed to go to the Kaiser parking lot on Sherman, but she had to look up the closest GW to it. In my gut, I don't think this is the case though. I think she ended up at those dumpsters by happen chance. It really depends on what was found in the area during the search. LE may not want that info to get out.

I suppose it's also possible the Kaiser parking lot was chosen as a meetup point after she arrived at the goodwill. One could imagine a text conversation shortly after she arrived at the goodwill along the lines of:

hypothetical drug dealer: Where are you? We need to meet now.
MG: Ok, I'm at goodwill, but I'm with my sister and I don't want her to see anything.
drug dealer: Fine, meet us at the parking lot behind Kaiser in 30 minutes. Ditch your phone before you get here.

That might explain going to church if she knew she had some time to kill (and was also scared about what might happen next).

 

[GigTu]

I was given some additional information about Maricela last night and am hoping this will generate some new ideas. Some of it doesn’t make sense.
· Maricela TOOK her keys and ID. No one knows why she had her ID. Wallet, purse, cash, credit/debit cards, cigarettes all left in the locked car.
· The Goodwill camera captured her walking from the door towards her car/99 Cent Store. They were both in the same direction. Once she moved out of camera view, she disappeared. There were no signs of a struggle, no one saw anything and there is no other security footage.
· Maricela lives with her mother and sister. She is a “homebody” and rarely goes out. She has been in recovery for two years. She might occasionally smoke weed but no other drugs/alcohol
· When Maricela went missing previously, she had been kidnapped, drugged and held in a hotel by her ex-boyfriend. The family suspects something similar has happened BUT the ex is in jail in another state. He has been cleared.
· The family believes her phone was a prepaid and they cannot get records. They don’t know how to do this and the police have not mentioned it.
· She had not spoken with/texted anyone that day that anyone knows of. She had been with her sister all day and not really using her phone. She has no current boyfriends.
· Maricela works as a delivery driver for PostMates based out of LA. She has a co-worker who has been harassing her, so much so that she recently punched him in the face. The family is concerned this person may be involved but they don’t know who he is. This is where they want to focus. They need help finding information about PostMates.
· No one knows her hangouts or drug associations. If she was not taken, she MAY be in the Santa Clarita or Mission Hills area. However, the family absolutely believes she was abducted. They have been checking hospitals and now want to start going to every motel in the LA area because of previous circumstances.

How does PostMates work? Where does she pick up the items that go into the mail? Who works at PostMates in those pickup locations?

https://postmates.com/los-angeles

Why did Maricela take her SIM card and battery out of the phone, smash the phone and leave it by a dumpster? What was she planning to do at the dumpsters in the Kaiser parking lot? Did she drop something in, change her mind, then go in to try to retrieve it? Did she get hurt or stuck while in a dumpster? Have they been washed? Can they be searched?

 

[Spartygirl]

mistivon - I haven't been able to keep up on this thread today but I just happened to see your post. I'm so glad you are covering all the bases in your search for Maricela. You're doing such a great job.

Here is a link to some resources Websleuths has compiled for missing persons cases. There is a ton of info there and I think some of your questions will be answered with this information. There are also groups to contact who may be able to help with the searches too. I hope this helps.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?550-Missing-Persons-Resources

Thanks Blondie...I was just going to post the Texas Equusearch as they helped my friend search for her son who is missing in CA.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?127315-Texas-Equusearch-Report-a-person-missing

 

[Elainera]

I think her sister said that she didn't have any texts or phone calls during the time in GW.

ETA: Sorry this was in response to mbison. Forgot to quote.