Sheriff's Office

For Immediate Release

Washoe County Search and Rescue crews find missing Lassen County woman
Washoe County Sheriff's Office search teams located the body of one missing Lassen County woman after hunters came across missing vehicle.

Washoe County Sheriff’s Office volunteer teams including Washoe County Search and Rescue, Raven, the Specialized Vehicle Unit, WOOF search dog teams, Washoe County Sheriff’s Hasty Team, and the Incident Management Team continue to assist the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office in searching for one of two women who were last seen on October 25, 2020.

Hunters came across the associated vehicle near Mixie Flat Road several miles east of Sage Hen Spring late Tuesday, November 10, 2020. The tan 2002 Toyota RAV4 had a flat tire, a raised hood, and the word “help” was spelled out on the ground with items from inside the vehicle. Raven and Hasty personnel who were training in the area moved to the reported location of the vehicle. A lone woman was found deceased in the passenger seat. Detectives dispatched to the scene say her death does not appear suspicious in nature. The woman is not yet identified, and her identity will be released at a later date by the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Washoe County teams spent in total Tuesday-Wednesday to access the site and search for the second woman:

• 6,600 travel miles
• 132 linear search miles in ground search
• 338 man hours (not including Raven)

Teams continue searching for the second missing woman today. The California Highway Patrol also provided a helicopter in the search efforts.

BACKGROUND:

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office began assisting the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office in searching for Shirlee Weaver and Candy Sturgill on November 3, 2020. The women were last seen on October 25, 2020 leaving the Litchfield, CA area with a destination of Wendel, CA. They are known to frequent the remote areas between Wendel and Pyramid Lake.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office is dedicated to preserving a safe and secure community with professionalism, respect, integrity and the highest commitment to equality. Sheriff Darin Balaam is the 27th person elected to serve as the Sheriff of Washoe County since the Office was created in 1861. The Washoe County Sheriff's Office strives to ensure public safety by building trust and creating partnerships within the diverse communities in which we serve. We will promote the dignity of all people supported by our words and actions through open communication while fostering an environment of professionalism, integrity and mutual respect.

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