Remains May Be of San Pedro Teenager

Skeletal remains found this week in Rancho Palos Verdes may be those of a San Pedro teenager who disappeared last year, authorities said Friday.

Sara Gephart, 17, was last seen May 28 at a youth sports event at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Crestridge Road in Rancho Palos Verdes, said her father, Steve Adam.

The coroner’s office, which has determined the remains are those of a female, is expected to compare them with Gephart’s dental X-rays, Capt. David Campbell of the county coroner’s office said.

“There is a possibility that this is in fact Sara,” Lt. Rick Angelos of the Los Angeles Police Department said. “But until we have absolute confirmation, it would be premature to say.”

Investigators found a purse containing Gephart’s school and medical identification cards near the remains, Adam said. He said the family is certain they are those of Sara, who was a junior at San Pedro High School. “It’s closure,” he said.

Two hikers found the remains about 6 p.m. Wednesday in a remote area below a cliff near the Point Vicente Lighthouse, sheriff’s officials said.

Both the LAPD and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Both agencies had searched the area around the church, but it was not immediately known if they had searched the area where the remains were found, Angelos said.

Adam, who had been at the May church event with his daughter, said he had understood that she was going out with friends afterward. Her parents called authorities when she did not return home that night. Adam speculated that she might have decided to walk home and then slipped and fell down a slope.