Sierra LaMar Search Resumed By California Authorities

Police are conducting new searches today for missing California teen Sierra LaMar.

Authorities in Santa Clara County, Calif., have resumed the search for missing teenager Sierra LaMar, who vanished eight weeks ago today.

Investigators will be conducting ground searches in south Morgan Hill this afternoon. Searchers will focus on open fields and construction sites, according to Sgt. Jose Cardoza, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff.

Underwater search teams will also resume water searches today at two reservoirs in unincorporated south San Jose.

"Almaden Quicksilver reservoir will be checked today with the assistance of a water borne detection K9 [and] side scan sonar checks will be conducted at Guadalupe reservoir," Cardoza said.

View the Help Find Sierra Facebook page.

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• Sierra LaMar

  Sierra LaMar, 15, vanished after leaving her Morgan Hills, Calif. home on March 16 and headed for school.

• Sierra LaMar

  Police found LaMar's cellphone on Saturday, March 17 -- the day after she was last seen. Cops said they're searching her phone records for clues.

• Sierra LaMar

  LaMar was a cheerleader in high school before moving to a new town, Morgan Hill, with her mother in October. Her parents are divorced and police said that both were cooperating with the investigation.

• Sierra LaMar

  Police are treating LaMar's disappearance as a missing person case. Her parents insist it's unlikely that she ran away.

• Sierra LaMar

  LaMar is 5-feet-2-inches tall with a thin frame. She was carrying a pink and black Juicy purse when she left home.

• Sierra LaMar

  Anyone with information about LaMar may contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office at [phone]

• Sierra LaMar

• Peter Robinson

  Deputy Peter Robinson, of the Santa Clara County Sheriff Underwater Search Unit, surveys a pond on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 in Morgan Hill, Calif. The search for missing 15-year-old Northern California girl expanded on Tuesday as investigators followed new leads one month since her disappearance. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's office would not say what the new leads were in the case of Sierra LaMar, except that they came from evidence already collected. The teen was seen leaving her Morgan Hill home on March 16. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

• Sierra LaMar

  A sign with a photo of missing teen Sierra LaMar is posted at an intersection on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 in Morgan Hill, Calif. The search for missing 15-year-old Northern California girl expanded on Tuesday as investigators followed new leads one month since her disappearance. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's office would not say what the new leads were in the case of Sierra LaMar, except that they came from evidence already collected. The teen was seen leaving her Morgan Hill home on March 16. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

• Santa Clara County Sheriffs underwater search unit

  The Santa Clara County Sheriffs underwater search unit prepares to lower a zodiac into Calero Reservoir to look for clues in the disappearance of missing teenage girl Sierra LaMar Tuesday, March 27, 2012, in Morgan Hill, Calif. LaMar disappeared as she headed out for school on March 16, and her cellphone and bag were found tossed in two separate locations shortly after. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

• Sierra LaMar

  HOLD FOR STORY: In this photo from Monday, March 26, 2012, posters bearing images of missing teen Sierra LaMar are seen at Burnett Elementary School in Morgan Hill, Calif. LaMar disappeared as she headed out for school on March 16, and her cellphone and bag were found tossed in two separate locations shortly after. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Despite more than 2,000 tips and thousands of personnel hours, police have made little headway in the teen's baffling disappearance.

The most recent discovery in the case was made Tuesday, when investigators located a red Volkswagen Jetta that may be connected to LaMar's abduction. Surveillance cameras and witnesses have placed the vehicle near the area where authorities believe LaMar was abducted. Authorities have yet to comment on what, if anything, they have learned from an examination of the vehicle.

LaMar was last seen around 6 a.m. on March 16, when she left her Morgan Hill home in Santa Clara County to attend classes at Sobrato High School. The sophomore never made it to the bus or to school. The following day, authorities found LaMar's cellphone discarded along a road roughly three-quarters of a mile northwest of her mother's home. The day after that, her purse and a backpack were found in a location about a mile from where investigators recovered her cellphone.

Because LaMar does not have a history of running away and has a close relationship with her family, authorities suspect she might have been abducted, but police have no suspects and no persons of interest at this time.

The TV crime show America's Most Wanted will be covering the LaMar case for a second time on Friday. The show will air at 9 p.m. on the Lifetime channel.

Sierra LaMar is 5-foot-2-inches tall with a thin build. She has brown eyes and long, black hair, and was last seen with a Juicy brand purse with a black and pink design.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the sheriff's department at 408-808-4500 or the anonymous tip line at 408-808-4431. Email tips can be sent to [e-mail].

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Comments

[topkatnc]

10:54 PM on 05/14/2012

It's just not safe to let a child walk anywhere alone without an adult .. It's not safe for a woman to go out alone .. esp to jog .. there are predators around every corner , just waiting for an opportunity to abuse someone .. I do so hope they find her alive.

[foodle]

03:04 PM on 05/14/2012

Sad how these cases pile on top of each other and fade from the media spotlight.

[JesusSaves101]

11:54 PM on 05/13/2012

My prayers continue to go to this girl, it's so hard to think that this is a reality. She was a normal girl and to think of this is a nightmare. She had so much going for her and to have the swept out of her life is soo tragic and sad i cant even come to grasp. Lord please God I pray this precious child is found ALIVE and returned to her loving family...to the parents keep the faith and never let that die she will come home!! Let's all pray for the miracle and for the thousands that are still out there. Sweetie my faith remains with GOD, MARY, JESUS, St. Joseph that you will have a safe return.

Everyone keep your heads held high

[GoldenGateCA]

02:05 AM on 05/13/2012

I pass the bus stop where this happened nearly every day. It is in a green belt with flat low fields all around. Very isolated. Narrow bands of trees border the fields and block the view of the houses. You would really have to know the area to even know there were houses there. Think of this like rural two lane high way. No one is there by accident that early in the morning. Someone either knew her or saw her another day on that road. I hope she is found alive, but don't hold out much hope. Every time I start to feel that parents have gotten over protective, something like this happens. My heart goes out to the family.

[rewith85man]

09:34 PM on 05/12/2012

Never give up regardless of the difficulties.

Sierra LaMar shall be found.

[tccat4]

03:57 AM on 05/12/2012

usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/24/10848941-search-for-missing-teen-sier...

Mar 24, 2012 ... Facebook.com/help.find.sierra image of missing teen Sierra LaMar. ... Steve LaMar, the girl's father, is a registered sex offender. ... Sandusky labeled 'likely pedophile' in 1998 report · Inquiry finds suspect test scores at schools ...

[tccat4]

03:53 AM on 05/12/2012

I had no idea they had stopped looking for her.... sigh

[eaenkiufo]

02:25 AM on 05/12/2012

I pray she is found safe, never give up hope

[Deb Upchurch Gress]

10:20 PM on 05/11/2012

Every parent's worse nightmare!!!! my heart goes out to this young lady and her family.

[denum1fan]

10:10 PM on 05/11/2012

Oh stop people, stop blaming her! She's a teenager for God's sake! I know that we need to be more vigilant with our children, and so do they in today's society, but where do we draw the line on being a teenager, or a child having fun? It's the NUT cases that should be blamed. I'm sure her parents are upset and if they read these blogs, they do not need more to comments to make them feel worse than they already do! Kids need computers for school work, and yes, parents should be vigilant on watching what and who and where they are posting stuff. I feel sorry for the kids of today, that can't even have a life outside the home, and sometimes IN the home, for fear of these wretched pedophiles and murderers. I hope that this comes to a good ending, and they find this beautiful child! And to the parents of this child and all the others that are missing, please don't blame yourselves, blame the parents of the person(s) that takes these children, as they are lacking in values and were probably left to fend for themselves and lack MORAL values! I say be tougher on these pervs, so that if MIGHT be a deterent to other degenerates! God Bless and watch over the children!

[shril1211]

09:32 PM on 05/11/2012

To the family I am so sorry.....but parents please get rid of the computers....

[fphuffp]

08:11 PM on 05/11/2012

Stay off your cell phone when you are out walking in sketchy areas (quiet areas, night time, etc) as it's nothing but a distraction and will let somebody sneak right up behind you. Being on the phone with a friend isn't going to do ANYTHING to save you or deter an attacker. What's he going to be afraid of? A bad conversation? Ah, ha ha ha.

It's hilariously dumb to use a cell phone as some sort of defensive mechanism. If you don't feel safe, then you need to buck up to reality and carry some sort of weapon, or stop putting yourself in situations that make you feel vulnerable.

Yes, I know the world sucks, and the media tries to make people feel like criminals for owning weapons. But, that's the reality of it.

[musicmasterno1]

07:11 PM on 05/11/2012

History would say any hope that she would be found safe and sound vanished a long time ago.

As a father, I cannot for the life of me fathom something like this happening to my daughter. How can you cope? How can you wake up in the morning and live a "normal" life? Every second of time doing something not search-related would rack me with guilt. "How can I be grocery shopping while my daughter's crying out for me?"

You spend years and years protecting them from the monsters in the closet or the boogeymen under the bed, but are completely helpless when the real ones come calling. I wouldn't be able to rest until she was found and the abductor brought to justice.

[wrightrjj]

09:12 PM on 05/11/2012

You just made me cry... because I totally agree with you 110% ...F&F

[glennthem]

11:02 PM on 05/11/2012

Each time we hear that another one of our children has fallen victim to another child molester, we find our behavioral responses to repetitively give us the same set of tools that we had the last time we heard. We find ways to evade the the real issues by verbally bashing the unknown predator; this offers some relief from the situation we continually find ourselves facing; the situation being, how did we as parents become so helpless against child molesters? Stalking our Sons and Daughters so the molester can have his 5 minutes of play time and then proceed with diligence to rob us of our own flesh and blood? They torture the very child we held so close to us many times to calm them when they were sick. we applauded them when they took their first steps and fell back on their diaper padded butts. We saw their face light up at Christmas when they ripped off the paper and opened the box and found that very special gift they had been telling us they wanted so bad every time they heard the commercial; and they'd come running in from across the street to tell us how much they needed it. The child we wiped tears from their eyes because they found out their 2nd grade crush wasn't going to marry them anymore. We watched their excitement as they ran out the door heading to their first school dance. Now this same child we find is missing; CON'T

[glennthem]

11:16 PM on 05/11/2012

Now this same child we find is missing; nowhere to be found. No matter how hard everybody looks they cannot find our baby. Why? Because a child molester has taken our child from us and violates them. He makes them do things so horrible we cannot stand the thoughts in our heads. When the molester is done doing that he starts the 2nd phase. He hog ties our baby and with his knife he stabs our baby over and over again. Naturally our child is screaming, calling for their mommy and daddy to save them. But we can't hear them because the child molester has taken them to a place where nobody is around to hear their cry's for help. They are stuck there to endure whatever the molester wants to do. Child molesters enjoy doing it. When he is done butchering our child he dumps their remains somewhere secret so we have no way to know what he did to our little one. Then finally one day someone stumbles upon their remains. This is the last memory we have of our baby. This is what child molesters leave for us to remember our child.
Its time for this shit to stop. Why can't our children be outside and be kids? Because of the clear and present danger that child molesters bring into our lives. They live in our neighborhoods.

[MzJask]

06:36 PM on 05/11/2012

Dear Lord, please bring this child back safely to her loving parents and family. My heart aches for this beautiful girl!

[BRETT3066]

07:19 PM on 05/11/2012

agreed.

[whdlsn]

06:30 PM on 05/11/2012

I was hoping for some good news for this poor girl and her family. I fear the worst. With daughters of our own, this is the ultimate nightmare. She is in our thoughts and prayers.