A single mother from the San Francisco area who disappeared eight months ago after she allegedly embarked on a 500-mile “pandemic road trip” through California is dead, authorities confirmed last week, breaking the news that she was they found human remains in a rural and desert area. from San Bernardino County, just north of Joshua Tree National Park, have been positively identified.
Hikers discovered skeletal remains on January 31 in the vicinity of Danby Road and Amboy Road in Wonder Valley, California, a sparsely populated unincorporated community in the Morongo Basin of the Southern California High Desert region, about 10 miles to the east of Twentynine Palms. The remains have since been identified as Erika Ashley Lloyd, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday.
The coroner’s office used dental records to make the identification, but the cause and manner of death have not been determined, as the investigation is still ongoing, according to local reports. The department did not immediately respond to a request from Fox News made Sunday.
CALIFORNIA MOM REMAINS MISSING 4 MONTHS AFTER ‘PANDEMIC ROAD TRIP’, FAMILY SAYS
“It hurts my heart to announce that these remains have been identified by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department as my sister Erika,” her brother, Colin Lloyd, wrote in a February 18 announcement on the Facebook page “Bringing Erika Home”.
“There is no easy way for me to tell you all this and there is no easy way for any of us to receive it,” he continued. “My wish is that we can all get a little closer, hug each other and remind each other more often that we are here for each other with open arms and endless love; it’s what she would have wanted; it is the spirit of who she was.
Erika Lloyd. (Source: California Highway Patrol, Morongo Basin)
A 37-year-old single mother of a 12-year-old son who lives in Walnut Creek, California, Lloyd was last seen on June 14, 2020, when she reportedly told her roommates that she was heading to the Joshua Tree National Park to meet people. the sheriff’s department previously said.
Family members last spoke to her by phone on June 16, the same day the California Highway Patrol found the vehicle she was last driving abandoned and wrecked near the intersection of Highway 62 and Shelton. Road in Twentynine Palms, KPIX reported.
His family reported him missing on June 17.
MOM FROM CALIFORNIA IS MISSING SINCE JUNE TRIP TO JOSHUA TREE: REPORT
It sounded like he was driving. He spoke very fast. It was hard to understand exactly what he was saying, ”his mother, Ruth Lloyd, said in an interview with KRON in August, recalling the last conversation he had with her. daughter. He said he learned from his daughter’s friends that Erika was growing restless during the lockdown measures and wanted to go camping near Joshua Tree.
“His business was closed due to COVID. He had no income. He was homeschooling his son, and that was getting to him, ”Ruth Lloyd told KRON.
Erika Lloyd’s black Honda sedan was found with broken windows, a broken radio and a deployed airbag, KESQ reported. Authorities said at the time that no dirty act was expected and were investigating whether Lloyd was involved in an accident. His camp and gear were found still intact at the Jumbo Rocks Campground in Joshua Tree, about 10 miles from where the car was found.
Erika Lloyd. (Source: California Highway Patrol, Morongo Basin)
“It has been about 8 months since Erika’s disappearance and we have been blessed by countless efforts of selflessness and compassion on the part of the community and our family,” continued Colin Lloyd in the Facebook post last week announcing the death of his sister. . He thanked the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Twentynine Palms and Wonder Valley residents, and others who searched the wilderness over the past few months, including Doug Billing, a local cave expert who has assisted in other cases of missing persons in the area. .
“You have all been a miracle to us,” wrote Colin Lloyd. “Now is the time to cry and I encourage everyone to pause and reflect on the beautiful soul we have lost: our Erika.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Remember her, cherish her memory, celebrate the past moments and laugh; she always made you laugh. Erika adored everyone; it left a bright smile in everyone’s heart; It reminded you of who you really were and how important and loved you were. were; she warmed your soul. Let us lovingly keep her spirit and let her work through us to serve others (whatever she would like us to do).
–
