On Sunday, April 18, a search and rescue team from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) conducted a search in the area of Pine Cove once again looking for Roy Prifogle.

Prifogle originally went missing in March 2020. After searches were conducted in the days following, Prifogle’s backpack was found, but no sign of Prifogle himself. 

Kendra Johnson, Prifogle’s daughter, posted on her Facebook page April 17 that citizen volunteers were welcome to search east of Highway 243 in the Pine Cove area.

Johnson said, “This is far from where Daddy went missing, so I think it would be most beneficial if anyone that wants to search would go out on a different day. While the SAR [search and rescue] teams are searching tomorrow [April 18], they don’t want any inference or anything with the area they are searching. They want to avoid anyone else getting lost or injured and they also want to make things as uncomplicated as possible for their search. I’m sorry that they had given me a different directive before, but I talked to them recently and this is how they want the search handled now.”

When the department first conducted searches in March 2020, the RCSD asked volunteers not to participate. They said they did not want anyone to disrupt any evidence that could be in the area.

Johnson expressed her gratitude to everyone who has supported her and her family.

“Thank you so much to everyone that does want to search or has searched before,” Johnson wrote. “Remember to stay safe and thank you again.”

The Town Crier contacted the RCSD media information bureau (MIB) twice this past week asking for information regarding where exactly in Pine Cove the department was going to search and if there were any new updates available regarding Lydia “Dia” Abrams, Diana Perez Gonzalez or Melissa Lane. The MIB responded writing, “A search was completed on Sunday in the area where it was believed Roy was last near. No evidence and or items were located during the search.”

Four people remain missing

Eight people have gone missing in the area since March of last year and four remain missing.

On Sept. 10, an RCSD SUV was spotted hauling an off-road vehicle near Highway 243 and Saunders Meadow Road.

The newspaper was told, “They were conducting follow-up searches for Melissa Lane.”

While it was unclear exactly where on the mountain deputies were searching for Lane, it was also confirmed that the search didn’t provide any further information or evidence of where Lane may have gone missing.

Lane, 41 at the time she went missing, was last seen June 15, according to a poster that was displayed in the Mountain Center area. The Town Crier spoke to Kathy Lamont, Lane’s mother, right after she was reported missing.

“She was an avid hiker but didn’t have a destination,” Lamont said. “She was last seen in Pine Cove. I don’t know if she’s dead or alive.”

In December 2020, Lane’s cousin Todd Gilliland told the Town Crier, “I miss her a lot. I wish we would get some kind of word about her. It’s nerve racking.”

Outside of the search for Lane, the community has not received any updates on the other three missing people. Friends, family and the community have been left in the dark.

Prifogle was reported missing after going on a hike in the Pine Cove area Wednesday, March 4, 2020. He left home at about 1 p.m. and was last seen at the Pine Cove Market at 6:30 p.m. 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. Abrams was placed into the system as a missing person.

Abrams was 65 years old at the time she went missing. She is 5’ 5” tall, 130 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black and turquoise jacket, yellow shirt and blue jeans.

On June 6, Abrams was last seen by her self-proclaimed live-in boyfriend/fiancé Keith Harper at her ranch in Apple Canyon (between Mountain Center and Garner Valley). Since the initial search efforts eight months ago, the RCSD has not provided new information or updates regarding her disappearance despite weekly inquiries from the Town Crier. 

Gotfredson has also been following the case since the beginning. In a previous broadcast, Gotfredson reported that News 8 and drone pilot Steve Jensen made their way out to Grand Wash Cliffs in Arizona to do some searching of their own.  

Gotfredson and Jensen spent multiple hours over a two-day period searching the cliffs and surrounding area for remains or clothing that match what Abrams was last reported wearing. Unfortunately, they didn’t find anything. 

According to Gotfredson’s story, Harper was in the Grand Wash Cliffs area a few weeks before Abrams went missing. He owns about 85 acres of land. While Harper lived with Abrams at her ranch, two days after she went missing, Harper left the state, driving through Arizona to get to New Mexico. 

Gotfredson reported that the San Juan County Sheriff in New Mexico obtained a search warrant and deputies impounded the RV Harper drove to New Mexico taking evidence from inside. However, the RCSD has not provided any persons of interest or suspects regarding Abrams or any of the other missing people.

According to RMRU, their team of volunteers was dispatched to Abrams’ 160-acre ranch in the Apple Canyon area 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.

The most recent woman to go missing from the Hemet/San Jacinto area is Diana Perez Gonzalez who was reported missing Dec. 11 and 27 years old at the time she went missing. According to family, Gonzalez visited the Idyllwild area regularly. She was last seen by her boyfriend.

Christy Rojas, Gonzalez’s sister, and her family are struggling with her sister missing.

Rojas said, “We’ve been terribly sad. We think about her every day and have dreams of her, waiting for any sign or a miracle because we miss her and love her a lot. But the most important, her baby needs her. We can see the sadness in her eyes. Although she can’t speak, we know she misses her mom.” Gonzalez is also pregnant.

The Town Crier recently reached out to the Perez family for any updates they may have received.

Rojas responded writing, “There are not relevant updates but thank you for asking. I’ll let you know if something new happens, God bless you.”