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8 months ago
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A California woman who disappeared last month after becoming stranded in the Arizona desert has been found dead.
Amanda Nenigar, 26, who vanished on February 28, was found naked under a tree just outside of Cibola, Arizona, around 1.5 miles from where her car was found on March 7.
Her cause of death has not been released, and La Paz County officials say they are working to perform an autopsy to gather more information about her death.
It comes as a chilling 911 call revealed Nenigar's confusion as she tried to explain her whereabouts to a 911 operator, hours before she vanished.
Her family previously criticized the search by officials, and claim she provided near-exact coordinates to where her car was found as her sister Marissa told KKTV last week: 'They could have found her.'
'I don’t know why they didn’t transfer her to dispatch in Arizona. She gave them her exact location and someone could have went and got her. They could have found her,' she said.
Amanda Nenigar, 26, was reported missing on February 28 after she became stranded out in the Arizona desert, and no trace of her has been found since
On March 7, searchers found her vehicle abandoned in a remote area in Cibola, Arizona, around 20 miles from her home in Blythe, California. Her belongings were not in the car
Her sister Marissa (pictured) slammed the search and claimed they bungled the search for the missing 26-year-old as the dispatcher was confused by her location
In the newly released audio, she was heard struggling to describe her surroundings to a dispatcher, saying: 'Um, I'm not sure, I see a field.'
Nenigar's family say the critical mistake that has led to her being missing for almost a month may have been where her 911 call was directed to.
The 26-year-old called from the remote location in Arizona, however the 911 call was directed to California dispatchers, which her family say contributed to the confusion over what she was describing.
She was heard in the call sounding confused and describing vague landmarks, as a dispatcher asked her: 'What are you surrounded with? Do you just see fields? Is that all you see?'
'I'm like kind of in a valley,' she responded.
'Yeah, there's just a lot of mountains... I climbed to like a high mountain and I'm wearing pink.'
The 911 operator asked her 'so you're on Highway 78, you think? And what would be the nearest cross streets?'
'Um, I'm not sure, I see a field,' Nenigar said, as the dispatcher admitted he was struggling to get a navigational signal from her call.
'I'm trying to get a location on you, but I'm not getting one,' he said.
The call was made on February 27, and Nenigar was reported missing by her family the next day after they couldn't get hold of her.
The 26-year-old called from the remote location in Arizona, however the 911 call was directed to California dispatchers, which her family say contributed to the confusion over what she was describing
She was heard in the call struggling to describe her surroundings to a dispatcher, saying: 'Um, I'm not sure, I see a field'
When the vehicle was discovered, its rear wheels were propped up on a boulder
After weeks of searches for the missing woman, her vehicle was found by the La Paz County Sheriff's Office in a remote desert area in Cibola, Arizona - with its rear wheels propped on top of a boulder.
Her sister said the find has left her family confused, as 'she's never been in that part of the desert, ever.'
'It's not a familiar area for her to go,' sister Merissa Nenigar added.
She criticized authorities for what she deemed a bungled investigation, with the La Paz County Sheriff's Office reportedly only becoming aware of the 911 call the day prior once they got involved.
It is not clear how much time passed between California investigators receiving the missing person's tip and the Arizona sheriff's office becoming aware of the 911 call.
The sheriff's office discovered that the California dispatcher was confused by the coordinates that Nenigar gave over the phone.
Despite being heard in the 911 call asking Nenigar if she was on Highway 78, he reportedly sent cops to look for her along Highway 95, around 40 miles from where the car was found.
Once Arizona deputies joined the search and listened to the call, they were able to follow her coordinates to just over a mile from where the car was found.
Nenigar's family say they are increasingly concerned about her, fearing she may have been kidnapped or human trafficked
Her family say they are increasingly concerned by the lengthy search, as there has been no trace of her ever since, and none of her belongings were in the car.
'Her phone goes straight to voicemail. Different people have tried calling her because maybe, I don’t know, she wanted to disappear and she blocked everyone, but no, that’s not the case. Her phone is going directly to voicemail,' Marissa added.
'It’s been so many days like, what if she’s somewhere out there dead? Or what if she’s being human trafficked? What if somebody kidnapped her? I have no idea. Nobody knows.
'We just want to know that she’s OK. We want her to come home.'
Officials say they have been scouring the area with drones, helicopters, ground teams and cadaver dogs, but so far have found no trace.
If you have any information on Amanda Nenigar’s whereabouts, please call the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 669-6141.
English (US)