Missing Calif. woman found dead under tree a month after disappearance

LA PAZ COUNTY, Ariz. (TCD) -- A 27-year-old woman who went missing over a month ago was found naked and dead underneath a tree about a mile from where her car was abandoned.

Amanda Nenigar was last seen Feb. 28, 2024, in Blythe, California, near the state border with Arizona. The Los Angeles Times reports Nenigar left a Blythe hotel at 3:44 a.m. on Feb. 27 and contacted police approximately three hours later to say she got lost driving to Palm Springs.

She reportedly said in the 911 call, "I think I fell asleep at the wheel. I was tired, so I went to go pull over, but I think I, like, ran off the road."

The Los Angeles Times reports Nenigar remained on the line with the 911 dispatcher for almost an hour as they tried to figure out where she was. She reportedly gave the dispatch her coordinates, but they were still having difficulty locating her. At one point, she allegedly said she was running away from people trying to kill her.

Nenigar’s mother told the Los Angeles Times that Nenigar dealt with mental health and drug issues and was "trying to get through it."

She said, "Her mind goes through psychosis when she’s withdrawing or when her body’s detoxing, and I think that’s why she ended up out there."

The La Paz County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona announced March 12 that Nenigar’s car was located in a remote area, but officials were continuing to search for her. She was found deceased Friday, March 29.

KPHO-TV reports investigators think Nenigar took off her clothes while trying to cool herself down but then died from cold weather exposure. An autopsy will be conducted to determine exact cause and manner of death.

La Paz County Sheriff William Ponce told KHPO, "Time is critical for us trying to find someone alive. Unfortunately, this is how we ended up in this situation. We’re trying to backtrack on information that wasn’t coming fast enough. Had we gotten that much sooner, I think we could’ve located her alive and been able to bring her home."

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