Found Deceased CA - Janette “JayJay” Pantoja, 28, & ex-boyfriend (Juan Almanza, 36) didn’t return from Reno trip, Yuba City, 6 August 2022

[imstilla.grandma]

The Nevada County Sheriff's Office said it got a call from the Gridley Police Department in Butte County just after 5 p.m., explaining that a man called 911 to report a vehicle that appeared to have crashed near Highway 20 and Poker Flats Road in Penn Valley.

The sheriff's office searched the areas surrounding the last known phone pings, which were in Nevada County, and any residences that were associated in rural Nevada County. That includes the location where both bodies were found Wednesday night.

Yuba City man, woman missing since Aug. 6 found dead, officials say

Officials announced Wednesday that they found a man and woman, both from Yuba City, who disappeared earlier this month after a day trip they never returned from.

www.kcra.com

 

[pandamonium]

The Missing Persons poster says last seen at 11:00 pm. I assume that really means their last phone ping was 11pm

So it would be dark without streetlights on a long drive on a 2-lane highway that is in a wooded area.

Their last ping would have put them about 100 miles from Reno, about 2 hours drive. Highway 20 is a smaller, twisty highway that goes through forests and up and down through those hills. That would be a long 2 hour drive and you would be really driving it most of the way by headlights, unlike being able to cruise on a 4 lane interstate with lighting like I-80. Probably deer around, too.

You are correct. I have driven this road many times over the years. In fact, it's so bad and known for accidents that I go out of my way during the winter and take a longer, but safer route.
Cell service is very minimal as well, which is another reason I rarely take that hwy.
Even during day time, visibility can be an issue, depending on direction and where the sun is. I have literally had to crawl at a snail's pace (or so it seemed) because I could not see the road with the glare.

So sad for this young couple. I hope they did not suffer out there

 

[charminglane]

At least they were found.
Was the spot they were found in within the 20 minutes from home that JayJay told her boyfriend on the phone?

 

[carbuff]

Sad but unsurprising...condolences to their families and friends.

 

[pandamonium]

At least they were found.
Was the spot they were found in within the 20 minutes from home that JayJay told her boyfriend on the phone?

Depending on how fast they were driving, yes, it was fairly close. Approx 25 miles or so.

 

[cocomod]

Such a sad story, but I am glad they were found and it seems likely that this was a horrible accident and not something nefarious. It seems likely that they were not wearing seat belts since they were found outside of the vehicle. Prayers for their family and friends for comfort during this horrible time.

 

[cvaldez1975]

They were visible… not even in water. LE said they did a search of the area. The sister begged them to do drone searches. This is so sad.

i am speculating that the 911 caller was one of their fam. walking the area of the last ping w eagle eyes and i hate to say it, nose.

 

[carbuff]

Yet another example of how easy it is to miss something important in a search.

 

[SpicyFruit]

Yet another example of how easy it is to miss something important in a search.

So true. The LE post said there was Tire skid marks. So really weird how no one seen them and tried to follow them. One of their missing flyers was right there estimated 500ft from the site. So people were out there, but I don't how if they were just random public or not.

 

[Herat]

It is dismaying the discrepancy in the search for these two as compared to the amount of time and effort for KR, 70 miles away.

I have to agree with the late Janette's sister that the search seems pretty superficial. I also think that this area is much less affluent and "popular" than Truckee and that there probably was competition for resources between the two searches, but KR's got priority.

I have to think the publicity for the disappearance of a young pretty girl possibly mixed with the wrong crowd clearly creates a sense of urgency that the disappearance of two adult doesn't.

I wonder if impairment by alcohol is at least partly involved in both cases.

 

[carbuff]

In KR's thread, it's been said that the weather in the area was foggy. That could certainly have contributed. Animal run out in front of the car, maybe? A moment's inattention and swerve back too hard? There are so many ways an accident can happen, especially if they were driving too fast in a hurry to get home.

 

[Gigi3]

Awe man. This was not the outcome we were hoping for. Prayers for all family and friends of these two. How devastated they must be.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[SpicyFruit]

"A family member of Pantoja said the last message they received from them was a text Pantoja sent to her boyfriend saying that they were 30 minutes away and would be home soon.

Police said they have tried pinging both their phones and the last known location of their phones was in Nevada County, and that the sheriff's office there is now also helping with looking for them. Family said that the last location ping was in Penn Valley, which is roughly 30 minutes away from Yuba City."

I wonder if she was driving and maybe this text got her distracted. Hopefully the family receives more clear answers.

 

[SpicyFruit]

"Pantoja said a former classmate messaged her on Facebook on Wednesday evening, saying they found the couple's bodies near their SUV, which crashed down an embankment off Highway 20 and Poker Flat Road in Penn Valley.

The wreckage was not visible from the highway, officials said.

Pantoja and Zavala went missing while heading home after a day trip to Reno. The pair remained friends after ending their relationship.

Yuba City police and the Nevada County Sheriff's Office said last week they looked in the same area where their phones last pinged but did not locate them. On Monday, they said they continued to search the ping location. There's even a flyer hanging near the crash site.

"It's just upsetting they were so close, the ping was right there," said Alejandra Pantoja.

The family is angry with law enforcement. They said they never took this missing case seriously.

"We were looking but we don’t have the resources like the police," she said. "They have police dogs, they have drones, they have the helicopters. I constantly told them, 'Why aren’t you guys working hard enough?"

Yuba City family questions law enforcement effort in finding their sister

A Yuba City family has questions for law enforcement after it took almost two weeks to find two people who never returned home from a day trip and were later found dead.

www.kcra.com