Ex-Senator’s Daughter Missing

Sheriff’s homicide detectives are investigating the disappearance of a former California senator’s daughter, who was reported missing by her husband Monday after she did not arrive at work.

Bruce Koklich told detectives he last saw his wife, Jana Carpenter-Koklich, 41, about 6 a.m. at their home, said Lt. Ray Peavy.

Koklich reported her missing after she didn’t arrive at the Long Beach office where they are both employed and he and a colleague did not find her at their home in the 4300 block of Fairway Drive near Carson Street, Peavy said.

Also missing is Carpenter-Koklich’s white 1996 Nissan Pathfinder with California license plate 3SHM565. Carpenter-Koklich is 5-foot-7 and about 130 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes.

Koklich has offered a $100,000 reward for any information about the whereabouts of his wife.

Described by friends and family as someone who never missed appointments, Carpenter-Koklich missed several this weekend, including one with her mother, Peavy said. She also did not return phone calls, Peavy said. The case is being investigated as a missing persons case with suspicious circumstances, he said.

“The last person to see her, other than her husband, saw her late Friday, from what we’ve been able to gather so far,” he said.

Carpenter-Koklich is the daughter of former California Sen. Paul Carpenter (D-Cypress), who once served as the head of the Senate Democratic Caucus and was chairman of the State Board of Equalization.

The former senator, who lives in San Antonio, was convicted in 1993 on 11 counts of obstruction of justice and money laundering after a trial featuring one of his closest legislative colleagues--former state Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys)--as the prosecution’s star witness.

Reached late Tuesday at his home, Carpenter, 73, said he is not optimistic about his daughter’s safe return. “If they come back alive, it usually happens in the first 24 hours,” he said. “I’m pretty discouraged.”

Carpenter said his daughter had been getting strange phone calls lately, and “there was some question as to whether or not she was being stalked. She and her husband were fortunate enough to capture one of the calls on tape.”

He said he knew of no other problems his daughter was having. Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at (323)890-5500.