Six people, Luis Alberto Artieda, David O’Sullivan, Roy Prifogle, Melissa Lane, Lydia “Dia” Abrams and Diana Perez Gonzalez, remain missing. The newspaper contacted the sheriff’s department regarding any updates. The newspaper did not receive a response by press time.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FACEBOOK
Artieda “was last known to be in Idyllwild from June 26 to 29,” according to a flyer. “His car was found on La Mirada Road and Ramona Road near North Lyyken Trailhead in the city of Palm Springs.” His vehicle was towed July 8 by the Palm Springs Police Department (PSPD) after the vehicle was “initially noticed July 3.” Artieda is 5’10” and 155 pounds. He is 53 years old.
Neither the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) nor PSPD initially took the lead on this case. RCSD responded to the newspaper that they were “currently reaching out to Palm Springs PD to try to see what is going on with this inquiry” and that they would be in touch. The newspaper has not received any further information.
PHOTO BY DAVID O'SULLIVAN
O’Sullivan, who was last seen at the Idyllwild Inn April 7, 2017, was 25 years old when he went missing. The Fowler-O’Sullivan Foundation (FOF) website writes of O’Sullivan, “David [O’Sullivan] was thru-hiking NOBO on the Pacific Crest Trail [PCT] from Mexico to Canada. On April 6, 2017 he sent an email to his family from an Idyllwild library. O’Sullivan, who is from Ireland, intended to hike north into the San Jacinto Mountains the next day. He has not been seen since. There are several trails he could have taken to access the PCT from Idyllwild. We do not know which trail David took.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF KENDRA JOHNSON
Another search of the area where Prifogle went missing was conducted Sunday, April 18. “A search was completed on Sunday in the area where it was believed Roy [Prifogle] was last near,” RCSD media information bureau wrote in an email response. “No evidence and or items were located during the search.” Before April 18, multiple searches had been conducted.
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.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TODD GILLILAND
Lane was last seen June 15, 2020. “I love my daughter so much and I’ve been praying for the other three families,” Lane’s mother Kathy Lamont said. “My heart tells me there is foul play somewhere.”
Lane’s cousin local Todd Gilliland was the last person to see her before she went missing. “I miss her a lot,” Gilliland said. “I wish we would get some kind of word about her. It’s nerve-racking. They [RCSD] have interviewed me once when she was reported missing and haven’t talked to me since. I was the last one to see her. You would think they’d want to go over it with me again.”
According to Lamont in December, the RCSD last searched in early September with cadaver dogs on Black Mountain Trail, north of Pine Cove, where Lane was last seen. The search came back with nothing.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LYDIA 'DIA' ABRAMS
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, 2020, 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 more than a year ago, the RCSD has not provided new information or updates regarding her disappearance.
PHOTO BY DIANA PEREZ GONZALEZ
The RCSD has not provided any persons of interest or suspects regarding Abrams or any of the other missing people. Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit conducted searches on Abrams’ property before assigning the case to detectives.
Gonzalez, who is from the Hemet/San Jacinto area, 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 was pregnant when she went missing.
