Timeline has been updated will all of the information from yesterday.
FULL TIMELINE:
CA Sierra Lamar, 15, Santa Clara County, 16 March 2012 timeline and media thread - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/deputies-find-car-linked-sierra-lamar-kidnapping/nNy5Q/
May 8 more @ link
Investigators have located a red Volkswagen Jetta they believe may be linked to the disappearance of Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday.
Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jose Cardoza this afternoon called the development "pretty significant" and said investigators will perform a forensic examination of the vehicle.
http://www.kron4.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=4078
May 8 more @ link
"The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office appreciates the public’s response by providing information on the vehicle in question," officials said in a written statement. "Investigators do have the vehicle in their custody but are asking the public to report any sightings of this vehicle and/or occupants during the time surrounding Sierra’s disappearance."
http://www.ktvu.com/ap/ap/california/authorities-find-car-sought-in-missing-teen-case/nNy8X/
May 8 more @ link
"It's still an open investigation," Cardoza told The Associated Press on Tuesday following a briefing in San Jose. "Our investigators do not want to compromise the case. We do not want to jeopardize anything."
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"We really need the public to come forward and help provide us with any information they may have about this vehicle," Cardoza said. "We want to know if they saw it in Morgan Hill, outside of Morgan Hill during the time she went missing so our investigators can piece everything together."
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-co...earch-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com
May 8 more @ link
"After two months without anything, it's significant that we got this car, and we're hoping it yields something major," said Sgt. Jose Cardoza, of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.
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Investigators "need information from people who saw it just before, during or after," Cardoza said, "They need people to come forward."
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"We don't have any information indicating she is no longer alive," Cardoza said. "Sometimes no news is good news."
http://gilroy.patch.com/articles/au...-associated-with-lamar-case-request-more-tips
May 8 more @ link
“As for the owner or driver, we're not there yet,” Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jose Cardoza said. “One thing you don’t want to do on a high profile criminal case is you don’t want to single out anyone for being associated unless you have a little more [info].”
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“Within the last week or two it piqued detectives’ interest again—that this is more than just a coincidence,” Cardoza said. “It was pretty obvious that it was the same vehicle [investigators] were looking at more than once."
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“Was there one driver? Were there other persons inside the vehicle? Was Sierra inside the car or not inside the car? They’re just not commenting on that right now,” he said. “Right now the focus is on reaching out to the public.”
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Red-Car-Found-in-Sierra-LaMar-Case-150651015.html
May 8 more @ link
Cardoza said that detectives know who the car owner is, but there is "no person of interest" in the case yet.
Still, Cardoza said detectives need more help. "We need information about this car," he said, "and we'd like to know who was driving it before, during and after Sierra went missing."
http://www.morganhilltimes.com/news...cle_bb5f89f6-9947-11e1-95a4-001a4bcf6878.html
May 8 more @ link
“Investigators are asking the public to report any sightings of this vehicle and/or occupants during the time surrounding Sierra’s disappearance,” Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jose Cardoza wrote in a press release.
http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/morgan-hill-authorities-may-have-found-car-linked/vHCCH/
May 8 from video @ link
Reporter: Just a couple of hours after releasing the new surveillance photos, investigators announced they had found the car, but would not say where or when. Although they acknowledged they know who the registered owner is, they said for the sake of the ongoing investigation, they would not release any information related to ownership.
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: We don't have a person of interest yet. So, we're hoping that, uh- you know, some evidence- if anything that would be yielded from this car will lead us in that direction.
Reporter: Sierra LaMar's father did not speculate on when the car was discovered, but did acknowledge investigators have kept him posted on developments, and he was not told about the car being found until this afternoon. He says the family is encouraged.
Steve: We've been kind of in limbo and kind of desperate for- for more information for a long time now, so this- this is good, so. So it's- it's making us feel be- much better and, and even more hopeful.
http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/morgan-hill-police-may-have-found-car-linked-to/vHCMs/
May 8 from video @ link
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: We still do believe that she's out there alive. We don't have any evidence-um, you know, contradicting that.
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: We still want to reach out to the public and ask them to- even though we have it in our possession, we still need information regard any sightings of this vehicle.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/video/#!/news/local/New-Clue-Discovered-in-Sierra-LaMar-Case/150697115
May 8 from video @ link
Reporter: The Sheriff's department isn't saying whether or not they already had that car in their custody when they asked for the public's help. What they are saying is that they got a lot of outpouring of support and tips from the public. They also are not saying whether one of those tips led to the car.
Sgt. Jose Cardoza says that the family took that find as a positive sign.
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: We wanted to make sure, number one- they didn't recognize this vehicle; and number two- not only- you know, anybody close to the family owned a vehicle like that. And number two if they knew that this vehicle may have been an associate of Sierra's or in any way related to Sierra, and they did not.
Reporter: Sgt. Cardoza says the still images are lifted from video already in evidence.
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: The photos were actual still photos from some of the video surveillance that we do have in evidence. These video surveillance images were obtained from cameras in the Morgan Hill area, we're not specifying where, whether they were residential cameras, businesses cameras, or bus cameras for that matter. But, they were from the Morgan Hill area.
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: There's no evidence leading that she's no longer alive. So our mindset is that she's still out there alive somewhere, so. And again, our focus is to find her, locate her and bring her home.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/video/#!/news/local/Red-Car-Found-in-Sierra-LaMar-Case/150706035
May 8 from video @ link
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: We just can't make public right now when we found it, or where we found it for that matter.
Reporter: So then why announce that it was found, anyway?
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: Well, what we don't want- is we don't want these calls to continue.
Reporter: These calls are the generic tips from people who thought they might have seen the car. Now the Sheriff's investigators are asking people to get more specific and call only if they saw that older model Volkswagen Jetta with a black hood, or the people inside it in the days around Sierra's March 16th disappearance. Among the many questions the Sheriff's department isn't ready to answer is 'who's car is it anyway?'
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: We do know who the owners are of the car. Um, we just can't comment on what role if anything they have in the case. But, we do- uh, know the registered owner as well as license plate for the car, but we just can't make the information right now public.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=8654064
May 8 from video @ link
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: At this time we just can't disclose when it was actually found, when we took it into custody, nor can we disclose- uh, the location of where we found it.
Reporter: Sierra's father says he and Sierra's mother had a previously scheduled meeting with detectives tonight.
Steve: I'm going into it with, um, hundreds of questions I g- you and everyone has. Um, and I'm- my feeling is I'm going to ask them- um, and it's up to them whether they can tell me or not. And I understand if they can't tell me.
Reporter: During today's news conference, I asked Sgt. Cardoza directly if he thought Sierra is alive right now. Here is his response.
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: Yes. We do still believe she is alive, and our primary focus and goal is to locate her, find her, and bring her home back safely to her family.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=8654347
May 8 from video @ link
Reporter: Sierra LaMar's father walks anxiously into the Santa Clara County Sheriff's department for what was supposed to be a simple update meeting with the detectives. But for the first time in 7 weeks, they have a solid lead.
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Sgt. Jose Cardoza: This vehicle is associated with her disappearance. The vehicle was observed, um- on the date and near the time when Sierra went missing.
Steve: Where, when it was found- uh, is there an owner, you know, all those kind of things.
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Reporter: Steve LaMar asked for details in his meeting today.
Did they have a response, though?
Steve: Yeah, they told me- yeah, they do have an owner and their response to the rest of it was 'we need to keep that, you know, close for investigative purposes.'
~~
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: We do believe that she's still alive. There is still a chance that she's alive. We don't have any information or evidence contrary or indicating that she's not alive.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/video/7195301-investigators-find-car-linked-to-sierra-lamar-case/
May 8 from video @ link
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: You know, for all intents and purposes, we do believe that Sierra is still out there alive. We don't have any information that would contradict otherwise.
Reporter: For you to say that she is alive, that's a pretty big deal.
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: We are- that's our leading theory right now, is that she's out there alive. Can we confirm that 100%? No.
Reporter: At his weekly meeting at Sheriff's headquarters, Sierra's dad Steve was anxious but optimistic about today's news.
Steve: I've been hopeful and staying positive the whole time and I'm- I still feel that way.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/vi...-car-potentially-linked-to-sierra-lamar-case/
May 8 from video @ link
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: We do have the vehicle in custody. The 90's model Volkswagen Jetta that is believed to be associated in the Sierra LaMar case.
Marlene: What's significant is that it was released in the media yesterday, and now we actually know law enforcement has the car.
Reporter: Marlene LaMar says the development will boost interest and energy in the case, now almost two months old.
Marlene: I see this as something physical, and it's going to definitely speed up the progress as far as the coming up with the answers leading us closer to Sierra.
Sgt. Jose Cardoza: The detectives can't stress enough that they really need people to come forward with any information they may have um, about this red Jetta. Specifically if they saw- if they saw it on the day that Sierra disappeared back on March 16th, before or shortly after her disappearance.
