VENTURA : No Progress in Case of Missing Woman

Approaching the one-year anniversary of Trina Montgomery’s disappearance, police have had no success finding the former Ventura woman who vanished under suspicious circumstances.

Montgomery, a Westchester resident who lived in Ventura until 1990, was last seen two days after Thanksgiving leaving an Oxnard party.

Her blue Toyota pickup was found several hours after she disappeared in a remote canyon at the foot of the Angeles National Forest. A small amount of blood was discovered inside the truck bed. Police refuse to say whether they believe the blood was Montgomery’s.

One of the few new developments in the disappearance is that the case has been transferred from the Los Angeles Police Department’s missing persons bureau to its robbery-homicide division.

“We are just looking for some information from the public,” said Detective Fred Miller. “We know that there are several people who attended that party who might have information. We’re just waiting for them to come forward and assist us.”

Montgomery, a 20-year-old Santa Monica College student at the time of her disappearance, attended Ventura High School in the late 1980s.

She was last seen Nov. 28, 1992, between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m.

“It’s tough on the family with the holiday season approaching,” Miller said.

Montgomery is 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs about 125 pounds. She has waist-length red hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing denim overalls, a white T-shirt and white high-top basketball shoes.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call Miller or Detective Bud Watts at (213) 485-2531. The Los Angeles City Council is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of Montgomery and the conviction of her abductors.