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

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IHAVENOCLUE said:
Just jumping off your post...

I am a little behind in this thread...
So if this question has been addressed... My apologies...

I wonder if there is record of reservations in Erika Lloyd's name at the JTNP/Indian Cove campground...

or any record of her credit card being used at the entrance and/or the campground?

Just some things I am wondering about...
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I think JTHP is FCFS right now, so no reservations in the system. Most people use cash or check, as there's no credit card uplink at the campgrounds. There's often virtually no ranger presence at those campgrounds or even in much of the park. There are no pay phones, food services or gas in the park either.

Lots of rough people out there, that's for sure. Especially just outside of the park, where there are no really no limits to how long people can live on BLM land if they are so inclined (tough life, and some people are long term campers/squatters out there).

I wonder if the family has the wherewithal to hire a private investigator.
 
IHAVENOCLUE said:
Morongo Basin LE?

Hmmm there is a major casino in Morongo...
perhaps she was thinking of going for some entertainment at the casino?

Just a thought...
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It's a little more than an hour (back toward L.A. area) from where her car was found.

Apparently her car was seen in a campground and then found near a different camping area, which would make it seem to me that if Erika was still with her car at that point, she was intending to camp.

I really wonder what route she took southward from Walnut Creek. Did she change her mind after telling friends she was going down Highway 1? It's about 9 hours, without stops, from Walnut Creek to where her car was found - at least 10 hours on the road of real time driving and gassing up.

If she went down Highway 1, it would take about 7 hours to get from Walnut Creek to Santa Barbara, with nothing but one gas stop. But it's highly scenic and most people stop several times, so it's usually more like 10 hours from Walnut Creek to SB. Then about 4-5 hours more from SB to the northern boundary of Joshua Tree/Jumbo Rocks.

Seems to me she would have had to have an overnight or be running on nervous energy, if she really did a 14 hour or more drive down Highway 1 and then out to Joshua Tree - at a time when she was supposed to be reopening her salon back home.

I fear that someone joined her in Big Sur (tons of hitchhikers; tons of people wanting a ride and trying to meet up with likely strangers to help them get where they're going).

If she did in fact plan her whole trip in the direction of Joshua Tree, from the beginning, then I have a hard time believing that she was excited about her salon reopening and ready to be there when it did...
 
8771 said:
BBM, because I think this is an interesting point. I live near Walnut Creek as she does and nobody I know has ever gone to JTNP on a whim for a quick camping trip. Aside from the heat advisory, the very long trip and the lack of camping experience, it is also odd that somebody very cautious and anxious re: COVID would travel down south towards the larger concentration of cases vs camping anywhere closer to home.

A long travel trip to your destination makes it very likely you'll be stopping for gas, etc along the way. Even if her final destination were remote, it seems odd to increase your chances of having to mingle when your goal is to avoid interaction.
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Exactly! I live just 4 hours from JT, and we would never ever do it "on a whim." It takes real planning and I would never, ever go alone. While JT itself and the surrounding area do not have a lot of CoVid, getting there would take a person through the heart of CoVid+ land (Santa Clarita, Riverside).

So many beautiful, cooler places to camp closer to home (Big Basin for example). Anywhere in the parks along Skyline south of SF, Santa Cruz, and of course, Big Sur. I do wonder though if she found herself sleeping in her car in Big Sur and if so, where she might have done that.
 
Sorry, if I'm misunderstanding the information provided, but has the possibility of Erika vandalising her own car been ruled out? She sounds as if she was extremely stressed and struggling. Could she have damaged her car in a rage, then gone to find a spot to camp/rest, found it uncomfortable and returned to her car. If she then saw the note on it, she may have felt unable to cope with dealing with rangers and moved the car herself. What happened then, I don't know. But presumably the rangers checked whether the keys were in the car or not? Would it be possible for someone else to drive it without keys etc?
 
I’m not aware of a massive SAR attempt, like you usually see in this area. I think LE knows what happened and can’t prove it, or? Also I’ve had a feeling that she was never there in JTNP from the beginning. Don’t hear much about the husband either.
 
dulcinea said:
It has been a few years so things could have changed, but there are no reservations. Camping spots are first come first served. It's also honor pay system. Things could have changed, but that's how it was the last time I camped there. Sometimes different campgrounds within the same park have different rules. I am still not sure which campground her car was seen at. There is mention of Indian Cove and mention of Jumbo Rocks. They are in two different parts of the park and there is no road that directly connects them.
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Thanks, Dulcinea!

I too have camped there...
And driven through other times...
But it's been so long I couldn't remember the protocol for registration/payment...

I was hoping there may be some kind of "paper" trail...
Though I am sure LE would have already investigated what I suggested...

JMO
 
10ofRods said:
I think JTHP is FCFS right now, so no reservations in the system. Most people use cash or check, as there's no credit card uplink at the campgrounds. There's often virtually no ranger presence at those campgrounds or even in much of the park. There are no pay phones, food services or gas in the park either.

Lots of rough people out there, that's for sure. Especially just outside of the park, where there are no really no limits to how long people can live on BLM land if they are so inclined (tough life, and some people are long term campers/squatters out there).

I wonder if the family has the wherewithal to hire a private investigator.
Click to expand...
Thanks, 10ofRods!

Please see my post above! :)
 
Did she take camping gear with her? If she wasn’t an avid camper then she would have had to borrow gear from someone.

What about food, gas and potty stops. You don’t make that kind of drive without stopping several times.

Big Sur makes way more sense then JTNP. Way more sense to a girl from Walnut Creek. Big Sur is gorgeous.

What I’m thinking is: what if she did head to Big Sur as she said she was.

Many year ago, I had occasion to find out that Marines on Camp Pendleton would get weekend leave and go places far and wide without a thought for how they would get back to base when weekend leave was over. It was common for them to steal a vehicle and drive it back to base, then ditch it.

Twenty Nine Palms is also home of what? A Marine Corps base. It’s right outside of JTNP over there. See where I’m going with this?

What if she ran into a couple of wayward Marines up in Big Sur who needed a way back to Twentynine Palms? What if they forced her to drive them back? What happens if it all went sideways and they harmed her, dumped her and took the car, got back to base, ditched the car, moved the car when the note was left?

what if she never left the Big Sur area but her car did? That makes for a huge search field. Big Sur all the way to 29 Palms. That hardly has to be easy for the police.

Anyway, that my two cents worth and a different perspective. FTR, I am so one of those crazy ladies that would go camping alone on a whim. I think about it a lot.

IMO
 
kelsie said:
This is so worrisome! Just read through this whole thread. Praying for Erika and for her son!
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Yes, very worrisome. If she was on a self imposed time out, she would have popped up by now IWT.

I still don’t have a solid theory on this gal, but here are the top scenarios I am considering:

1. Took a self imposed time out and met with misadventure. (Hurt hiking, got lost, etc)
2. Met with someone online and this was the meet up. She met with foul play
3. Someone she knew prior to her disappearance harmed her. Could have been a money dispute.
4. Has walked away from her life and responsibilities.

if forced to choose, I would say #2 is the most likely, with #1 a strong possibility as well.

that’s all I’ve got ATM.
Still getting all sorts of mixed signals on this one.

Amateur opinion and speculation
 
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