Inside The Disappearance of Sierra Lamar

Sierra Mae LaMar was born on October 19, 1996, in Fremont, California.

On the morning of March 16, 2012, when Sierra didn't show up at school, the automated attendance system marked her as absent. However, it wasn't until 6 p.m. that evening that her mother received an automated email notifying her of Sierra's absence.

Regrettably, by the time Sierra's disappearance was reported, so many hours have gone by. The news of her disappearance spread throughout the school, and her English teacher left her desk empty for the remainder of the year.

Initially, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office treated Sierra's case as that of a regular missing person, with no indication of foul play. However, over the next two days, evidence that suggested otherwise was discovered.

Items Belonging to Sierra are Found

On March 17, Sierra's cellphone was found at an intersection in Morgan Hill, about two miles from her home. It appeared to have been thrown from a vehicle and was discovered intact near the roadway.

The following day, her pink "Juicy" brand purse was also found . The purse contained neatly folded clothing, including a pair of jeans and a shirt. Once again, the purse was discovered discarded on the side of the road.

In the days following Sierra's disappearance, a large-scale voluntary search was organized and the focus shifted to searching for any evidence of a crime, the search became more intense.

As Sierra Lamar remained missing, her disappearance became increasingly concerning, leading investigators to consider the possibility of a kidnapping or abduction. They classified her case as that of an "involuntary missing person."

There was no indication from Sierra's personal life that she would have voluntarily run away. Although forensic analysis of her phone and computer yielded no helpful information, investigators continued to pursue leads. They even questioned every registered sex offender in the area about their whereabouts at the time of Sierra's disappearance.

A Suspect is Arrested

The discovery of Sierra Lamar's abandoned purse, which contained her clothing, provided a significant breakthrough in the search for her suspected abductor and murderer.

Traces of DNA were extracted from Sierra's jeans by the crime lab, which linked a 21-year-old man named Antolin Garcia-Torres to the crime. Garcia-Torres's DNA was already on file with law enforcement agencies due to prior offenses, including felony battery.

Garcia-Torres drove a red VW Jetta and worked at a Safeway grocery store. He lived in an RV park with his pregnant girlfriend and mother, approximately 7 miles from Sierra's home. After being identified as a suspect, Garcia-Torres was put under 24-hour surveillance by multiple agencies, who closely monitored his every move.

The disappearance of Sierra Lamar was featured on an episode of America's Most Wanted. After two months of constant surveillance, on May 21, Garcia-Torres was arrested by sheriff's deputies for the kidnapping and murder of Sierra Lamar.

Surveillance footage captured Garcia-Torres's red VW Jetta in the vicinity of where Sierra Lamar was last seen on the morning of her disappearance. The car had been confiscated by officers a few weeks prior. Sierra's DNA was discovered on an inside door handle of the vehicle, and a single strand of her hair was found caught within a rope in the trunk.

Although no body, crime scene, or murder weapon had been found, prosecutors still pursued the death penalty against Garcia-Torres.

Incomplete Justice

On March 14, 2015, Sierra Lamar's family made the difficult decision to end their search for her. Volunteers had been conducting weekly searches for the past three years, hoping to find Sierra's body or remains. According to ABC News, this was the longest ongoing search effort in the United States.

Garcia-Torres eventually stood trial on January 30, 2017, and was found guilty by a jury four months later on all counts, including the kidnapping and murder of Sierra Lamar.

The jury decided against the death penalty and instead sentenced Garcia-Torres to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Garcia-Torres has refused to provide any information regarding Sierra Lamar's whereabouts.