Updated: Tuesday, November 3, 9 a.m.
The remains of a Yucca Valley woman who went missing more than 2 ½ years ago were found last week in the desert east of Twentynine Palms. Carla Reyes, 54, left her home on Skyline Ranch Road on the morning of February 3, 2013, in her 2002 Mitsubishi Gallant and disappeared. Her family and the Sheriff’s Department searched for her for 998 days before her body was found October 26 by off-roaders who were hiking in the desert. Her remains were found inside her car, which was stuck in the sand in a remote location generally accessible only by 4-wheel-drive vehicles. The closest intersection was Highway 62 and Highway 177. According to the Desert Sun newspaper, Reyes’ body was positively identified by the Riverside County coroner’s office by a surgical plate inside her body. A coroner’s spokeswoman also told the newspaper that it’s believed Carla Reyes died shortly after she went missing. Foul play is not suspected. Maya Brand, Reyes’ daughter-in-law, wrote on the Find Carla Reyes Facebook page, “A lifelong struggle with alcoholism and depression had proved to be a battle she could not win. The stigma of suicide is always the hardest for the survivors. After 998 days of searching and waiting for answers, our family can begin the process of closure. I pray that Carla has found peace.”
