Body of missing woman found in Mojave Desert
The body of a 58-year-old woman missing since last week was found in the Mojave National Preserve on Tuesday.
Luisa Aguilar Ventura was reported missing by relatives in Pomona on Nov. 17 after she failed to arrive in Madera, Calif., north of Fresno, with her 18-year-old grandson, Arturo Hernandez. Ventura last spoke to her family when the two left Las Vegas at 6 p.m. Nov. 16.
The incident is being investigated by homicide detectives but so far has not been ruled a homicide, said Arden Wiltshire, spokeswoman with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities were searching for Hernandez.
“We don’t even know if he’s aware that she died,” Wiltshire said, adding that there were no signs of trauma on Ventura’s body. The coroner’s report had not been released. “We need to talk to him,” she said.
A motorist discovered Ventura’s body beside Cima Road. She and Hernandez were in a gray 2002 Toyota Tacoma, license plate 6Y27079. Authorities were searching for it.
Anyone with information can call (909) 387-3589.
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esmeralda.bermudez@latimes.com
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