Woman missing for weeks found dead short walk from her desert home
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A Piñon Hills woman who went missing in late May was found dead in a desert area near her home more than a month later, authorities said.
Deputies responded to the 10600 block of Oasis Road around 8 p.m. on June 30 after someone discovered a deceased person in the desert, according to a news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
The remains were identified as those of Loretta Pilitsis, 55, of Piñon Hills, authorities said. Investigators did not disclose further details surrounding the cause and manner of her death.
The woman had been missing since May 25, when deputies took a report of a missing person in the 900 block of Locust Road. When they arrived at the scene, deputies learned Pilitsis had left her residence on foot and was last seen near her home, authorities said.
An “extensive search” of the surrounding area was conducted at the time of the initial report using K-9 teams and air assets, but she was not located, according to the news release.
An investigation is currently ongoing and anyone with information is urged to call the Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division at (909) 890-4904 or text “REPORT” to (844) 909-3006, officials said.
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