Found Deceased CA - Erin Valenti, 33, from Utah, en-route from Palo Alto to San Jose, 7 Oct 2019

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I'm local to San Jose area
Very strange no media coverage here. I also go to parks near that area. Something that is bothering me is there are no missing posters.

@Emi -- thanks for your local, critical update on missing EV.

It seems now that there's more information known to LE that's not made it to MSN yet.

We know the standard community / family protocol for missing persons, and it's already been 4+ days, and not seeing it yet with this case.

MOO
 
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Oh man this does not sound good at all. Can SJPD at least upgrade this to endangered missing if not a silver alert?
Apparently, they don't have a reason to do so.

I keep thinking they must have a reason for treating this as a voluntary disappearance. What is it?

She has already been missing four days. It is understandable why her family is so worried. I am too. MOO
 
I wish some friends/colleagues who last saw her in Palo Alto would make a statement of some sort. I feel like it would be helpful to know WHERE in Palo Alto she was last seen, and with whom, and what time. Depending on where she was specifically it would help determine whether she likely took 101 or 280 towards the airport. Not to mention her state of mind when last seen would be pertinent to exploring what might have happened.

MOO.
 
Tbe only scrap of new info on FB that I see is the car's plate number:

Ca plates 8LUD641

That might have already been posted, I don't know. For those of you who are local to San José, you could consider signing up for Nextdoor.com and posting the missing flyer and the car plate #. Eventually it might make its way to the Almaden neighborhood or where ever she is.
 
Apparently, they don't have a reason to do so.

I keep thinking they must have a reason for treating this as a voluntary disappearance. What is it?

She has already been missing four days. It is understandable why her family is so worried. I am too. MOO

Maybe it's not that they have a reason, it's that they don't have a reason. In other words, without any evidence to contradict it, they automatically assume a missing adult is missing voluntarily. Although her family is saying adamantly that her being missing without contact, IS reason to contradict it. So...

I honestly hope she's okay somewhere, but I suspect that's likely not the case.
 
At the 1:37 mark in this video, her husband says she was trying to figure out where she was. :(

Family Searching for Utah Woman Reported Missing in Bay Area

I'm confused, it wasn't clear to me if he was on the phone with her because she was lost and he was trying to help her? Did she call him for help? Egads, these reporters need to come to WS for interview school!! She didn't ask him how the call ended? What did she last say? Did the call end and then her phone was off?

HW said; "So my last communication with her was on the phone Monday night, after the last person saw her. And it was on the phone, umm, trying to figure out where she was. She was still saying she was going to the airport, but was also bouncing off of topics".
 
Bumping map:
OCT 11, 2019
Utah woman failed to return home from California, reported missing

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  • EV is 5'4" tall and weighs 150 pounds.
  • Blue eyes and blonde hair.
  • Last seen wearing a white t-shirt and torn jeans.
  • She was driving a gray 2020 Nissan Murano CA license plate 8LUD641.
  • She never returned her rental car or made her return flight to Utah.
  • Her phone has been off since Monday night.
Utah tech CEO goes missing in California
  • The last time she talked to her husband on the phone was Monday night, and her phone pinged to San Jose.
  • EV will turn 34 on Oct. 16.
Palo Alto to San Jose - Google Maps

Palo Alto to San Jose - Google Maps

ETA: Upon an initial glance all the green areas (State Parks) appear to be Southwest of this road.

Water to the north.

Moo.
 
People who are distracted can make a wrong turn and then try to double back. They can miss their offramp. Happens all the time.

Surface streets near the airport see quite a bit of police activity (mostly minor assaults, some robberies).

But unless she somehow transferred her phone to someone after talking to her husband, her phone was in the car with her and the phone ended up near Almaden and Camden, quite a bit south of the airport. Either someone hijacked her car once she got off on the proper offramp or she came down the 280, thinking she remembered the directions, wasn't using GPS, and ended up somewhere she didn't plan to be.

Almaden Expressway branches off the 280 before it gets to the 101, and then runs parallel to the 101, so she would have had to head north (again) on the Almaden Expressway to get back to the airport. I think her GPS would have told her to head north on the 101, though.

I'm pleased that it seems LE has gotten her cell records and can plot out her drive. I just wish they'd be more specific about the route.

I'm guessing her first misstep may have involved surface streets, as well. Maybe went around the wrong block? Opportunistic crime? Is it confirmed she stopped at an ATM?
Sure. I have overshot and undershot exits many times.

San Jose is my hometown; I was born there. I lived in and around the area for many years and I'm less than an hour south of there now. If I were going to SJ from Palo Alto, I'd take 101; it's a straight shot. However, if for some reason she chose to take 280, she'd then cut over on 17/880 to get to the airport. IF she overshot, 87 would be the next best way to double back. I can't imagine a non-local attempting to take surface streets. And honestly, I cannot imagine missing the airport exits; they are clearly marked. MOO
 
Bumping map:


Palo Alto to San Jose - Google Maps

ETA: Upon an initial glance all the green areas (State Parks) appear to be Southwest of this road.

Water to the north.

Moo.
This map is more specific, Magz. It includes Palo Alto, the airport, and the location of her last location/cell phone ping which has been described as
  • Almaden Expressway and Camden Avenue in San Jose, and
  • Vegas Drive and Menlo Street in San Jose
Both are basically the same area: Google Maps

MOO
 
Wouldn't surprise me that she knows someone in the area. I just can't come up with why an outgoing, social, tech exec would not return her rental car and miss an important awards ceremony.
It was reported that she was there for a conference and to meet up with friends. So, I think it's a given that she knew people there but I don't think she went visiting friends on her way to the airport when she had the rental car to return.

And, according to her husband, she was confused and was trying to figure out where she was, still saying she was going to the airport... Why was she confused? Medical issue? Did somebody drug her? MOO
 
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