CA CA - Katherine Truitt, 37, Point Reyes National Seashore, 7 Jan 2010

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Friends and family of Katherine Truitt, an Alameda woman who disappeared from Point Reyes National Seashore's McClure's Beach three weeks ago, will celebrate a mass Saturday for her safe return.

"This is not a memorial or a funeral. This is to bring her back. We're not ready to give up. It's to revitalize people and bring hope. This will be very upbeat," said Nancy Christie, the mother of Anna Christie, Truitt's close friend.

National Parks Service rangers saw Truitt's brown Ford Ranger in the beach's parking lot Jan. 8. When it was still there the next day, they began their investigation and search for the missing woman. She was last seen in Alameda on Jan. 7.

Truitt, 37, was the first woman to disappear this month from a Point Reyes National Seashore beach. Silvia Lange, 77, of Nicasio, was reported missing Jan. 24 from Point Reyes' North Beach about eight miles south of McClure's Beach. Lange is still missing.

Stormy weather in the Bay Area when the women disappeared has led to speculation they got too close to the shoreline and were swept away by a "sneaker" wave.

Christie said Truitt, like Lange, was savvy about the dangers sneaker waves present unwary beachgoers.

"She knew the ocean. She wasn't a tourist," Christie said.

Truitt suffers from a hereditary spinal injury and it would have been possible, but difficult for her to walk far to the shoreline, Christie said. She liked to meditate at the beach and used that time with alternative medical practices and art therapy for healing, Christie said.

Christie discounts speculation Truitt was sad or depressed and might have committed suicide.

"She was a very vibrant person," Christie said.

Truitt's family believes she was abducted and they are redistributing flyers with her photo, Christie said.

Alameda police checked Truitt's computer and Christie said "nothing negative or sketchy was found and no one had been harassing her."

None of her clothing or personal items were found on the beach although trash containers in that area were emptied before the search for Truitt began, Christie said.

The mass to celebrate Truitt's life and to pray for her safe return is at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph's Catholic Basilica, a 125-year-old Alameda church where her parents married. The church is located at 1109 Chestnut St.

"People may think we're grasping at straws, but these straws need to be grasped," Christie said.

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Nearly a month has passed since Katherine Truitt vanished at Point Reyes National Seashore while hiking her favorite beach. Her family and friends still nurse a faint hope the 37-year-old woman is out there somewhere, alive.

But with each day bringing no word from Truitt or fresh clues as to what happened to her, it's getting more and more difficult for them to believe the Alameda resident will one day return home.

"I'm just dealing with it day-by-day," said Truitt's best friend, Anna Christie, who has scoured McClure's Beach for any trace of the missing woman.

"It was her favorite beach," Christie said. "She loved the elk that were on the nearby hills. It was a place that gave her peace."

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The search has stalled for two women who went missing at West Marin beaches within two weeks of each other, the chief parks ranger at the Point Reyes National Seashore said Wednesday.
Alameda resident Katherine Truitt, 37, disappeared from McClures Beach on Jan. 9, and Nicasio resident Silvia Lange, 77, has not been seen since Jan. 24, when she went for a hike at North Beach.

"It makes everyone frustrated - the families, the friends, the rangers and the investigators," said David Schifsky, chief ranger at the National Parks Service's office in Olema.

Two park service investigators spent about a week in West Marin handling the cases and are now back at their respective offices, Schifsky said. "They have followed any leads that have come to us," he said. "There is nothing new to report."

Friends and families congregated on the coast as search-and-rescue efforts took place in the days after each woman was reported missing. Initially there were worries about possible abductions or "sneaker" waves pulling them into the ocean. Schifsky described that as "total speculation."

"Officially they are missing persons," Schifsky said.

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• Missing Since01/06/2010
• Missing FromAlameda, California
• ClassificationLost/Injured Missing
• Date of Birth10/11/1972 (46)
• Age37 years old
• Height and Weight5'10 - 6'2, 145 - 190 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA black windbreaker jacket, an olive-green shirt or sweater, a white undershirt, size 16 black or blue jeans and men's size 8 black Keen sneakers. May have been carrying a green or black backpack
• Medical ConditionsPrior to her disappearance, Truitt sustained a neck injury which, combined with a pre-existing spinal problem, left her with chronic pain.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Truitt's nickname is Kat. She wears contact lenses. Her ears are pierced.

summer_breeze said:

http://www.marinij.com/westmarin/ci_14421264

Brent Ainsworth
Posted: 02/17/2010 05:27:52 PM PST

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• Missing Since 01/06/2010
• Missing From Alameda, California
• Classification Lost/Injured Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 10/11/1972 (51)
• Age 37 years old
• Height and Weight 5'10 - 6'2, 145 - 190 pounds
• 
  
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A black windbreaker jacket, an olive-green shirt or sweater, a white undershirt, size 16 black or blue jeans and men's size 8 black Keen sneakers. May have been carrying a green or black backpack
• 
  
• Medical Conditions Prior to her disappearance, Truitt sustained a neck injury which, combined with a pre-existing spinal problem, left her with chronic pain.
• 
  
• Associated Vehicle(s) Tan 2003 Ford Ranger pickup truck with a bed liner and the California license plate number 7C23799 (accounted for)
• 
  
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Truitt's nickname is Kat. She wears contact lenses. Her ears are pierced.

Details of Disappearance​

Investigating Agency​

• Alameda Police Department 510-337-8311

Source Information​

• California Attorney General's Office
• Finding Katherine Truitt
• The San Francisco Chronicle
• KGO-TV
• The San Jose Mercury News
• The Alameda Times-Star
• Facebook Page of Katherine Truitt
• NamUs