Active searching continues for missing persons

Four people are still officially listed as missing through the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD).

“At this time, there is no update available on our missing persons,” Correctional Sergeant Deanna Pecoraro responded Friday morning after the newspaper asked if there were any updates. “We are still asking for the public’s assistance in locating them.”

On Sept. 10, a RCSD SUV was spotted hauling an off-road vehicle on Highway 243 near Saunders Meadow Road. The Town Crier inquired about why the deputies were in the area.

“The SUV may have been in the area for training and/or some type of search,” Pecoraro responded. “We do not have the specifics of where they may have been or why as there was no incident in the area that was requesting the SUV during that timeframe.”

Due to that response, Captain Leonard Purvis from the Hemet Sheriff’s Station was contacted via email to see what information he could provide.

“They were conducting follow-up searches for Melissa Lane,” Purvis wrote.

While it was unclear exactly where on the mountain deputies were searching for Lane, Purvis did confirm that the search didn’t provide any further evidence regarding Lane’s disappearance.

Melissa Lane, 41, was last seen June 15, according to a poster on display in the Mountain Center area. The Town Crier spoke to Kathy Lamont, Lane’s mother, “She was an avid hiker, but didn’t have a destination. She was last seen in Pine Cove. I don’t know if she’s dead or alive.”

Rosario Garcia was last seen July 7 wearing a brown shirt and blue jeans at the 26000 block of Katherine Street in Hemet. Garcia is a 73-year-old Hispanic female and it is possible she suffers from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. She is 5’ 3” tall and 120 pounds.

Palm Desert deputies from the RCSD were dispatched to the area of 70000 East Highway 74 in Pinyon Pines at 11:46 a.m. July 9 after Garcia’s vehicle was found unoccupied. Garcia was not located after a search of the area was conducted.

Earlier in the year, local Roy Prifogle was reported missing after going on a hike in the Pine Cove area Wednesday, March 4. He left home at about 1 p.m. and was last seen at the Pine Cove Market at 6:30 p.m. on the same day. He was last seen wearing a red backpack and jeans.

RCSD Deputy Jeremy Parsons said, “After six full days of searching in between inclement weather, searching 8 to 10 hours per day, Prifogle has not been located. The Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU), as well as search and rescue volunteers from San Bernardino County, Orange County and San Diego County, were assisting. In total, about 150 people have been searching during those six days.” Also adding, “On the second or third day of the search, we found his backpack, but have found no other clues as to his whereabouts.”

On Sunday, June 7 at approximately 8:24 a.m., Hemet Station Deputies were dispatched to the 58000 block of Bonita Vista in reference to a missing person. Lydia “Dia” Abrams was placed into the system as a missing person.

Abrams is 65 years old, 5’ 5” tall, 130 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black and turquoise jack, yellow shirt and blue jeans.

According to RMRU, their team of volunteers was dispatched to Abrams’ 160-acre ranch in the Apple Canyon area (between Mountain Center and Garner Valley) June 9. They conducted a search from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with no success of finding Abrams.

RMRU went out again June 10 to search more difficult areas on the property including a creek bed and the hills overlooking her ranch. All assignments were completed by 6 p.m. At that point, detectives took over the investigation and called off the physical ground search.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Roy Prifogle, Dia Abrams, Rosario Garcia or Melissa Lane, contact the RCSD immediately at 800-950-2444.