CA CA - April Pitzer, 30, Newberry Springs, 28 June 2004

http://www.nampn.doenetwork.us/cases/pitzer_april.html



Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

# Missing Since: June 28, 2004 from Newberry Springs, California
# Classification: Endangered Missing
# Date Of Birth: February 19, 1974
# Age: 30
# Height: 5'9"
# Weight: 120-130 lbs.
# Hair Color: Brown
# Eye Color: Hazel
# Race: White
# Gender: Female
# Distinguishing Characteristics: Small round scar on left side
of chest, no upper teeth, scar on elbow, scar on lip. Medium
complexion.
# Medical Conditions: Bi-polar and needs medication.
# Clothing: Size 6 athletic shoes or sandals.
# Jewelry: Gold hoop earrings.
# AKA: April Coggins
# NCIC Number: M-314239727
# Case Number: DR 080401661

Details of Disappearance
April was last seen in the vicinity of the 30000 block of Caspian Way in Newberry Springs, CA. She told her roommate that she was leaving on a bus to visit her family in Arkansas. She has a history of drug use. Pitzer had also been a model for a variety of clothing stores in Arkansas and Texas. She left behind two young daughters, whom she reportedly doted upon.

Note: More photos at link

http://www.desertdispatch.com/2006/113750694144726.html

They've found some clothing, that her mother has identified as hers.

They were found by a man who owns a mine. While he was giving a tour he found the clothing, which was down a mine shaft, and knowing about the missing persons report CONTACTED THE AUTHORITIES!

Three cheers for this man to have the presence of mind to get involved and report the find!


They still haven't found any trace of her, but they are still looking!

April Beth Pitzer has been missing for more than two years, but her mother still hears her voice every day.

Gloria Denton of Clarksville, Ark., is April’s mother, and she has been working with a variety of people to help find her missing daughter.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies are still working the case, and independent organizations have come forward to assist, but the most compelling help is likely to come from a new DNA method that has been helping the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Coroner solve missing and unidentified persons cases.
Denton said her daughter went missing on June 27, 2004, shortly after they spoke on the telephone.

According to Denton, Pitzer was living at a home in Newberry Springs, and she had packed her bags to leave for the Barstow bus station.

Denton had arranged for her daughter to take a bus back home to the Fort Worth, Texas, area and was told that “Uncle Chuck” was going to drive her to the station.

But Pitzer never made it to Barstow, and her bag and clothes were found in the desert near Ludlow along with a mattress and sheet that had blood and body fluids on them, Denton said.

She said that San Bernardino County Sheriff’s investigators recently confirmed that the blood and fluids were human and that DNA testing is pending.

http://www.desertdispatch.com/2006/115427262554901.html

In the three years since April Beth Pitzer's disappearance, sheriff's detectives have followed one lead after another, each time coming up empty-handed. They've probed mine shafts, run DNA tests and analyzed the walls of a truck stop restroom in Oregon in search of the mom who went missing from Newberry Springs in June 2004.

Now, a $50,000 reward is being offered for the recovery of Pitzer and the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her disappearance. Let's Bring Then Home - a group of "advocates for the missing," according to the Web site, www. letsbringthemhome.org - is sponsoring the reward. Det. Steve Pennington of the San Bernardino County Homicide Detail hopes the reward will spark someone's interest in coming forward.

"We know that somebody knows something," he said. "It's just whether or not they will talk."

http://www.desertdispatch.com/onset?db=desertdispatch&id=592&template=article.html

Rle7 said:

April Beth Pitzer has been missing for more than two years, but her mother still hears her voice every day.

Gloria Denton of Clarksville, Ark., is April’s mother, and she has been working with a variety of people to help find her missing daughter.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies are still working the case, and independent organizations have come forward to assist, but the most compelling help is likely to come from a new DNA method that has been helping the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Coroner solve missing and unidentified persons cases.
Denton said her daughter went missing on June 27, 2004, shortly after they spoke on the telephone.

According to Denton, Pitzer was living at a home in Newberry Springs, and she had packed her bags to leave for the Barstow bus station.

Denton had arranged for her daughter to take a bus back home to the Fort Worth, Texas, area and was told that “Uncle Chuck” was going to drive her to the station.

But Pitzer never made it to Barstow, and her bag and clothes were found in the desert near Ludlow along with a mattress and sheet that had blood and body fluids on them, Denton said.

She said that San Bernardino County Sheriff’s investigators recently confirmed that the blood and fluids were human and that DNA testing is pending.

http://www.desertdispatch.com/2006/115427262554901.html

Click to expand...

Did "Uncle Chuck" say that he got her to the bus station and that he saw her leave? She either didn't ever get on the bus or she must have got off somewhere along the way. I wonder how far it was that she was traveling...how many miles?

There will be a search for April next month:

http://www.ghosttowngallery.com/htme/april-novsearch.htm

On November 2-4, 2007, a large-scale search for April Beth Pitzer's remains will be conducted near Elephant Mountain off of 1-15 outside of Barstow, California.

The November search, hosted by the Kristen Foundation (www.kristenfoundation.org) out of North Carolina, is bringing together people and organizations with the same mission: to find April Beth Pitzer.

"It's heart wrenching," explains Gloria Denton, Apri's mother, " that thousands of our adult daughters and sons being abducted, murdered and thrown out like trash. This problem has always existed but until organizations such as Let's Bring Them Home, the Kristen Foundation, Texas Equusearch, and amazing strangers such as Mike melson and Brian Hanson made a choice to care and become involved, little was ever told of the thousands of missing adults and the pain their parents and children are living with."

Volunteers are needed for the search, along with lodging, meals, water, and financial support.

"We are also needing a 'home base' for volunteers in Newberry Springs, possibly a Church," explains LaDonna Meredith, Executive Director for the non-profit missing persons advocacy group, Let's Bring Them Home.

Let's Bring Them Home is based in Gloria Denton's home state of Arkansas and is currently offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of April Pitzer and the arrest and conviction of those involved in April's disappearance.

more details at link


Here is April's NCMA page:

http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200401695S

And here's her AMW page:

http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/brief.cfm?id=45069


And her Texas Equusearch page:

http://www.texasequusearch.org/missing_persons/AprilPitzer.htm

A You Tube about April:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQKPZfMaH9o

http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/search_1842___article.html/pitzer_missing.html

The three-year-long search for a woman who went missing from Newberry Springs continues this weekend.

Gloria Denton, the mother of the missing April Beth Pitzer, and a group of volunteers from across California, will search the desert area around Elephant Mountain near Interstate 15 outside of Barstow. The search will concentrate on an area where articles of Pitzer’s clothing were found. Denton said the search will include special equipment and spelunkers.

Detectives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and volunteers have searched desert areas around Barstow before and mine shafts near Ludlow hoping to turn up information about Pitzer.

According to reports, Pitzer, a mother of two, went missing on her way from Newberry Springs to Arkansas, where she was originally from. Pitzer was last seen in the vicinity of the 30000 block of Caspian Way in Newberry Springs.

Denton is looking for volunteers for this weekend’s search, search equipment and financial support. To help, call Denton at

http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/search_1906___article.html/denton_bones.html

November 6, 2007

Bones, hair found during weekend search for missing woman

Searchers found bones and other evidence at the bottom of one mine and a possible grave site nearby. Many bones and a small clump of hair were found at another site. Most of the bones were determined to be animal bones, but a questions remain about a few, said James Price, a volunteer with the search. Price said some of the evidence was turned over to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for analysis.

more at link


http://www.wsbtv.com/news/14524895/detail.html

http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/pitzer_3139___article.html/denton_barstow.html

21 April 08

For a fourth time, volunteer searchers will comb the desert near Barstow and Newberry Springs this weekend in search of clues to the disappearance of a missing Newberry Springs woman.

and

The search party will meet Saturday and Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. at the west side of the parking lot of Peggy Sue's 50's Diner in Yermo.

much more at link

Any new information on April?

April was ruled out as one of the 13 bodies found in the New Mexico Desert. Although she wasn't found, at least I have a reason to give this one a bump.

I hope her family finds answers soon. It has been too long.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/...bring_queries_on_lost_loved_ones_200903161745

If you are interested in reading more about the Mass Grave found in New Mexico, a discussion can be found here:

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79948

A website for April is below. If you are not familiar with this case, please read up on it. It is so sad that her family still has no answers.

The next search for April is scheduled for May 9-10, 2009. More information can be found in the search section on this site.

http://www.whereisapril.org/

Her website lists her characteristics as not having any upper teeth yet:
1. she was a model
2. her photos show her having teeth?

My son and his freinds went out there (I was furious) once and reported back to me and showed me photos of many mines and some that are literally like holes in the ground. There are lots of caves and caverns out there. They seem like an organized group of people conducting the searches and hopefully are graphing their searches so all area is covered.

Im cusious as to if the clothing and bag of clothes looked abandonded like she had been staying out there OR just kinda thrown out (like out of a car)when found?

Who exactly is Uncle Chck? Is it a real family member or just someone she referred to as Uncle Chuck? Maybe i overlooked something here but was he ever located and interviewed or not?

Here's an article/blog written about April.

http://blogs.discovery.com/criminal_report/2009/03/april-beth-pitzer.html

A Search Party is being organized with a SAR GROUP coming from Utah to California to search for April Pitzer for March 18-21st. PLEASE pass this information along to those who may live in the area and are able to assist. Volunteers over the age of `18 + ATV's are needed.
Direct link to poster:
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg241/LavandaDolce/AprilPitzerSEARCHPARTYPOSTER_March1.jpg

Thank you for your help, in advance!

http://www.sbsun.com/breakingnews/ci_14639014

By Melissa Pinion-Whitt
Posted: 03/09/2010 08:33:46 AM PST

A crew from the television channel Investigation Discovery plans to film the latest search near Barstow for a missing Newberry Springs woman.

The crew is scheduled to film March 18 and 19 in the desert for a show called "Disappeared," said Gloria Denton, mother of April Pitzer, who has been missing since June 2004.

Click to expand...

summer_breeze said:

http://www.sbsun.com/breakingnews/ci_14639014

By Melissa Pinion-Whitt
Posted: 03/09/2010 08:33:46 AM PST

Click to expand...

Awesome, eh?

I would like to list a couple of links and make a couple of statements about this case..

Years ago most of us came together on the internet to look for a missing young lady named Natalee Holloway on the island of Aruba. Although I had commented on missing persons cases and other kinds of news at Scared Monkeys original web site and other web sites too, I had done one search for a missing person in years prior.. a young girl in my community who was found in a field after being murdered. I did not walk up on her remains, others did and thank god for that as if I had I do believe I would have had a heart attack at such a sight.
It was truly disturbing..
Years later I did do another search along with Trinity Search and Rescue for missing person Nita Mayo in the Sierra mountains near Yosemite. Mike Melson who leads that team is a great man who does these searches out of the goodness of his own heart along with his wife and other team members. They are a highly qualified search and rescue team.
I have been speaking with and doing research for Gloria Denton for a few years now, who I would say has become a voice and a powerful advocate for finding the missing because of her own daughters fate. I support her in her efforts to find April Beth Pitzer and you will see her speak in many news articles and supporting other families of missing loved ones..
One of the saddest photos I have ever seen is Gloria Denton standing over her daughters clothing found while on a search. She is strong and Will Not be stopped in finding April Beth and if you can donate even 5 dollars towards this effort it would be appreciated and well spent. Gloria does not waste a dime and she is not a rich woman.
I applaud the efforts made by Gloria and all of YOU who have supported her efforts.
I know members of Blogs for Natalee have been a huge support effort for Gloria in the past and I have so much respect for them for doing so.
There have been good days and bad days in Gloria's life in this search for her beautiful daughter and her support and caring for other families of victims does not go beyond my eyes.
In the wise words of Amber Dubois grandmother
" How is the family of a missing person supposed to act ? "
God Bless you Gloria and I do pray that all search efforts bring April home to you and her daughters.

Edward Blair.. "Cazador" at WebSleuth's


http://www.whereisapril.org/photos.html

http://missingpiecesshow.homestead.com/MissingPiecesEpisode14Archive.html

Trinity Search photo page.
http://www.trinitysearch.org/tsar/tsarinaction






http://www.whereisapril.org/

Breaking news.. I have talked with Gloria today by phone.

On wednesday San Bernadino Detectives acting on a tip relative to finding April Beth Pitzer, went to an undisclosed location and found bones at the area mentioned by the tip they had recieved.
That area is not part of the search area being searched this weekend by Volunteers and professionals looking for evidence leading to finding April Beth Pitzer.
Gloria Denton "mother of April Beth" is at the location and the bones will be tested for DNA and compared to Aprils DNA.