Found Deceased CA - Erika Lloyd, 37, car found vandalized near Twentynine Palms & Joshua Tree NP, 14 June 2020

[MajorHoople]

Mom who disappeared after setting out on a 'pandemic road trip' is found dead | Daily Mail Online

"A California mom who vanished after she set out on a 'pandemic road trip' has been confirmed dead.

Erika Lloyd, 37, was last seen setting off from her home in Walnut Creek on June 14 last year, intending to drive seven hours to Joshua Tree National Park.

The mother-of-one's disappearance sparked a large-scale search which came to end on January 31, when hikers discovered human remains on a desert trail in Wonder Valley - about 15 miles northeast of Joshua Tree."

 

[10ofRods]

That's definitely not the article I was referring to.
When Cottonwood was mentioned, a poster suggested it related to the Cottonwood part of JTNP, which is at the other end of the park.

Whereas I suggested it was Cottonwood Drive in Twentynine Palms, which is on the route from the campground where Erika stayed and in between that campground and where her body was found.

Amboy Road is 4 miles north of Cottonwood, both run in the same direction.

I'm not at all sure that Erika walked by herself from her wrecked and abandoned car to where her body was found, but it is within the realm of possibility.

As to CoD, there are many forms of homicide that wouldn't show up in skeletal remains, and death from exposure is pretty much a diagnosis of exclusion and circumstance.

 

[bykerladi]

If they rule her death "undetermined" I'm going to scream.

 

[PingTheRouter]

death from exposure is pretty much a diagnosis of exclusion and circumstance.

she wouldn't be the first at joshua tree thats for sure

there was a story on the weather channel just this week about a man who parked his car and hiked in to joshua tree he tripped over a boulder and broke his leg at the hip joint

the guy couldn't walk and had very little water to last a long period of time, only about a litre

they barley found him because they were able to get his car ping from the service provider but it took 2 days of his son and emergency rescue flying helicopters around joshua tree trying to find him

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Erika Lloyd's black Honda sedan was found with smashed windows, a shattered radio, and the airbag deployed, KESQ reported.

Authorities said at the time that no foul play was expected and were investigating whether Lloyd was involved in an accident.

Her campsite and gear was found still intact at Jumbo Rocks Campground in Joshua Tree, about 10 miles from where the car was found.

It remains unclear whether Lloyd met with foul play or simply lost her bearings after setting off on a hike in Wonder Valley.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14118645/erika-lloyd-found-dead-joshua-tree-national-park-california/

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Her family previously speculated Lloyd may have been involved in a car accident prior to her disappearance, given the visible damage to her vehicle.

“We don’t know if she had some memory loss when she got hit by the airbag,” her mother, Ruth Lloyd, told KESQ. “Maybe she doesn’t know who she is. We don’t know, we aren’t sure about her mental stage.”

‘She Warmed Your Soul’: Mother Found Dead In California Desert After Vanishing During Solo Pandemic Road Trip

 

[Force Ten]

Her family previously speculated Lloyd may have been involved in a car accident prior to her disappearance, given the visible damage to her vehicle.

“We don’t know if she had some memory loss when she got hit by the airbag,” her mother, Ruth Lloyd, told KESQ. “Maybe she doesn’t know who she is. We don’t know, we aren’t sure about her mental stage.”

‘She Warmed Your Soul’: Mother Found Dead In California Desert After Vanishing During Solo Pandemic Road Trip

Being that she was found 1/4 from a road I can’t help but suspect foul play. But with the condition of her car and airbags deployed she most likely had an accident and became disillusioned.

 

[wary]

Being that she was found 1/4 from a road I can’t help but suspect foul play. But with the condition of her car and airbags deployed she most likely had an accident and became disillusioned.

‘Disillusioned?’ I’m guessing that autocorrect stabbed you in the back?

 

[swedeheart]

Here is a very thorough article about Erika's case that came out before she was identified. Very interesting, and titled "Panic in Wonder Valley."
Panic In Wonder Valley After Sixth Body Turns Up In Less Than Fourteen Months | SBCSentinel

One of the other bodies that was identified was also a 37 year old mother, who "loved doing hair."
Bones of Missing 37-Year-Old Mother Found Outside Joshua Tree National Park

Not sure how that's not slightly suspicious (and sounds like locals agree), but ...???

Looking forward to hearing what Erika's COD is.

 

[Force Ten]

‘Disillusioned?’ I’m guessing that autocorrect stabbed you in the back?

I meant disoriented. No idea why I chose that word lol.

 

[swedeheart]

California mum who vanished during ‘pandemic road trip’ found dead in desert

"A forensic odontologist used dental records to make the identification, the sheriff’s department said. The cause and manner of death have not been determined at this time, Cindy Bachman, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino Co. Sheriff-Coroner, told Fox News on Sunday. The investigation remains ongoing."

 

[swedeheart]

Small discussion about location of her body (with map visuals) at about 14:15.

 

[swedeheart]

"It is not impossible for her to have walked from her car to this spot, absolutely not impossible." (Doug Billings, cave expert, who searched for Erika for 100s of hours.)

Edit: I had to change the word possible to impossible, but I'm still not sure what he said.

 

[Gregoryowen]

Did law enforcement look at the video of Erika's car leaving the park and driving my the school? I would take a closer look at the vehicles that were in front and behind Erika's car in those videos.

 

[The Digger]

29 Palms locals accused of stealing missing woman's car

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

From link above:

Hikers found Lloyd’s skeletal remains in a desert field a quarter-mile east of the 5200 block of Danby Road in Wonder Valley on the morning of Jan. 31.

Her family said Lloyd was suffering from mental illness and had a breakdown about a week before she drove herself to Wonder Valley. When she ran her car into a berm, she went on foot and “succumbed to the elements.”

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

From link above:

Hikers found Lloyd’s skeletal remains in a desert field a quarter-mile east of the 5200 block of Danby Road in Wonder Valley on the morning of Jan. 31.

Her family said Lloyd was suffering from mental illness and had a breakdown about a week before she drove herself to Wonder Valley. When she ran her car into a berm, she went on foot and “succumbed to the elements.”

How would her family know that she “went on foot” after wreaking her car?
Maybe she ran into “28-year-old David Krough and 34-year-old Teala Campbell” before her wreak. MOO

29 Palms locals accused of stealing missing woman's car

 

[Traymar]

How would her family know that she “went on foot” after wreaking her car?
Maybe she ran into “28-year-old David Krough and 34-year-old Teala Campbell” before her wreak. MOO

29 Palms locals accused of stealing missing woman's car

Totally agree. From the link:
"Krough was arrested at 7:26 a.m. Thursday, July 8, on Falderman Avenue. He is jailed in West Valley Detention Center on $50,000 bail for being a felon with a firearm and $25,000 bail for vehicle theft. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, July 12, at the Joshua Tree courthouse.

Campbell was arrested at 9:55 a.m. Thursday on Raymond Drive. She is jailed at West Valley on $1 million bail on suspicion of vehicle theft and possession of a stolen vehicle. Her arraignment is also scheduled for Monday, at the courthouse in San Bernardino."

$1 million bail? Seems high for just stealing a car. MOO.

 

[RumorMonger]

29 Palms locals accused of stealing missing woman's car

IMO we have never heard about the mental breakdown before. Maybe I missed it. Doesn't matter now for Erika but I wish families just told the whole truth when the situation is happening.

 

[Suglo]

In defense of the family, hindsight is 20/20. They may not have realized the extent of her mental breakdown until all was said and done. The moving of the car seems to have thrown off all parties from her family to LE to Search & Rescue. How tragic. There’s a possibility she could have been found before succumbing to the elements had LE found the car at the initial spot without any interference from third parties. I’m also wondering if some of the damage to the car was done when these people winched it out of the berm and drove it away. Were the keys in the ignition? Had they called LE immediately on finding the car she could be alive today. That’s worth a million dollar bail in my opinion. They interfered with LE’s ability to find her.