Mother of Missing Teen Assails Police

The mother of a missing 15-year-old Ventura girl, along with about 20 family members and friends, accused the Ventura Police Department of inaction, during a protest Monday outside the county courthouse.

Lois Bowens reported her daughter, Jenniffer Rose Vernals, missing on March 30. Her grandmother, Virginia Bowens, dropped the teen off on Main Street near the Buenaventura Mission to do some shopping. The teen was last seen leaving a thrift shop about 1 p.m. and has not been heard from since.

“This is not like her not to call,” Bowens said. “She just vanished off the face of the earth.”

Family members and friends have spent the last 10 days posting Jenniffer’s photograph throughout the city while conducting their own search. They believe Jenniffer was kidnapped but that police have labeled her a runaway.

“Every time I call the police, I’m put on hold,” Bowens said while handing out fliers to passersby at the courthouse Monday morning. “Every time I reach someone I’m told they’ll call me back, but never do. A detective has not been to our house once.

“We’re looking for my daughter on our own. I’m becoming a heck of a detective.”

But Ventura Police Sgt. Ted Prell said police are doing what they can. Jenniffer is officially listed as missing.

“I understand their frustration,” Prell said. “They want something done. But we are doing everything we can.”

Prell said six investigators have been assigned to the case and every lead they get is followed up.

“We are dedicating as much, if not more, resources to this” than to any other missing-persons case, Prell said. “That’s all we can do.”

Jenniffer is described as 5 foot, 3 inches tall and weighing about 125 pounds. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt but could have changed into a pair of ripped jeans and a Motley Crue T-shirt.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the Ventura Police Department at 339-4399 or Bowens at 644-6592.