The California Highway Patrol has issued a statement over the missing woman who was found dead in the desert after her 911 call went to the wrong state.
Amanda Nenigar, 26, was reported missing on 28 February in Blyth, California, and her naked body was recovered on 29 March near Cibola, in Arizona.
It has emerged that her initial 911 call, made the day before, got picked up in the wrong state - preventing her rescue.
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In Nenigar’s desperate call to police, parts of which have been obtained by AZ Family, she said she was stuck in a ditch and gave her exact co-ordinates while asking for assistance.
It later transpired that her 911 call went to California dispatchers rather than to Arizona - a huge error as her vehicle ended up being found in Arizona days later on 7 March, with the rear wheels on top of a boulder.
During the call, the dispatcher asked Nenigar: “What are you surrounded with? Do you see just fields? Is that all you see?"
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She replied: “I’m like kind of in a valley.
"Yeah there’s just a lot of mountains [...] But I climbed to like a high mountain and I’m wearing pink."
The dispatcher then replied: “OK, so you’re on Highway 78, you think? And what would be the nearest cross streets?"
Nenigar said: “Um, I’m not sure. I see a field.”
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The dispatcher then said: "I'm trying to get a location on you but I’m not getting one."
Nenigar’s family have been told the California officer ‘was confused where Amanda was by the descriptions she gave and ended up looking for her along Highway 95, a good 30-40 miles away’.
However, ‘when Arizona deputies heard the 911 call, they followed the coordinates Amanda gave, and ended up just a mile and a half from where her car was found’.
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Yesterday (8 April), the Chief of California Highway Patrol, Tommie Cocroft, issued Tyla with a statement.
It read: “On Feb. 27, 2024, at approximately 8:23 a.m., the California Highway Patrol’s (CHP) El Centro Dispatch Center received a 9-1-1 call from a woman advising she had been involved in a crash.
"The dispatcher who intercepted the initial call attempted to work with the caller to determine her location, so that an officer could respond to the scene. It was determined the caller’s name was Amanda Nenigar.
“Although Ms. Nenigar’s location was unclear, at 9:40am CHP units from the Winterhaven Area and Blythe Area were dispatched to search for her in their respective areas.
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“When efforts to locate her on the ground were unsuccessful, Border Division deployed a plane to search for the victim. At approximately 2:30pm search efforts concluded after personnel were unable to locate Ms. Neningar."
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The statement continued: “Unfortunately, she was not located that day. She was found deceased a month later in Arizona.
“An investigation into the facts and circumstances of Ms. Neningar’s death is being conducted and further inquiries should be directed to the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department.”
Amanda's sister, Marissa, told AZ Family: "She gave them her coordinates, California, and I don’t know why they didn’t transfer her to dispatch in Arizona.
“She gave them her exact location and someone could have went and got her. They could have found her."
The outlet reported that Nenigar’s family were considering legal action.
You can donate to a GoFundMe set up by Marissa to help the family 'honour her memory'.
Tyla previously reached out to the La Paz County Sheriff's Office for a comment.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Kya Buller