Missing woman found dead in desert just weeks after telling police her exact coordinates

A 26-year-old woman was found dead in a desert just weeks after telling police her exact coordinates.

Mother-of-two Amanda Nenigar went missing on 28 February in the desert near the California-Arizona border.

She was found dead on Friday (29 March) at around 7:30pm local time, according to reports.

La Paz Country Sheriff's Office said in a statement on 30 March: "Late Friday evening Amanda Nenigar was located deceased.

"The family has been notified and issued a statement requesting privacy and thanked the public for their assistance in trying to locate Amanda.

"We ask that you please respect the family during this time and avoid spreading rumours and assumptions."

Facebook/Amanda Nenigar

The 911 call Nenigar made was shared on social media by law enforcement as she told the dispatcher she was tired and decided to pull her car over.

Instead, Nenigar looked to have drove off road by mistake, telling the dispatcher: "I’m like kind of stuck in a valley.

"I see trees, I see possibly a canal."

She told the officer that she'd been stuck out in the desert for a day.

"Everybody is probably worried sick about me," Nenigar said.

She was instructed to look for her co-ordinates on Google Maps and to inform the dispatcher of her location, which she did.

However, her body was found some 30-40 miles from the co-ordinates given, La Paz County Sheriff William Ponce said.

"We believe she went under the tree to try to get some shelter from the elements," he said.

"As you may know, it gets hot in the Arizona desert.

"Her clothes were strewn along the path that we believe she took prior to making it to that tree where she ended up passing."

Nenigar’s sister, Marissa Nenigar, told KTLA: "She did not have to die like this.

"If they would have listened to her 911 call and wrote down the coordinates, again, she would still be here with us.

"She would still be alive. Her daughters wouldn’t be without a mother right now."

The family are looking to pursue a negligence case against the force, as attorney Tom Ryan, who is unaffiliated with the case, explained: "The most important information that she gave the dispatcher was horribly botched by the dispatcher, and it cost this young lady her life."

Attorney Russ Richelsoph, also not involved in the case, added: "The California Tort Claims Act gives the government in California broad immunity.

"It also carves out some exceptions for when the government can be sued."

California Highway Patrol (CHP) Chief Tommie Cocroft issued the following statement: "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.

"Over the next hour, 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 9:40 a.m. CHP units from the Winterhaven Area and Blythe Area were dispatched to search for her in their respective areas.

"When efforts to locate her on the ground were unsuccessful, Border Division deployed a plane to search for the victim. At approximately, 2:30 p.m., search efforts concluded after personnel were unable to locate Ms. Nenigar.

"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. Nenigar’s death is being conducted and further inquiries should be directed to the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department."

LADbible has contacted La Paz County Sheriff's Office for comment.