The family of two Chico women who went missing near Mount Shasta last summer is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to their safe return.
Siskiyou and Butte police say they have conducted several searches for Dolores Sakamoto, 84, and her daughter, Vivian Luna, 64. But they have found no trace of them or their car since July.
This fall, the women’s family announced it is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to their return home, according to the Nor-Cal Alliance for the Missing; and Melody Hart of Chico, who posted that she is the woman’s daughter and granddaughter. Family is also reaching out to people on social media to keep the search going.
According to Megan McMann, public information officer with the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, a neighbor reported the two women missing from their home on July 21.
Family or friends told police that the women would not normally leave the house with food on the counter or dishes in the sink, both of which were the case. According to the police report, one of the women left her bank card on her bed, “indicating that she left in a hurry.”
The California Highway Patrol issued a Silver Alert for both women and their vehicle: a black 1996 Lexus ES 300 with California license plate 6KSP061, according to a report from McMann.
Siskiyou and Butte police are looking for 84-year-old Dolores Sakamoto, left, and her daughter, 64-year-old Vivian Luna – both of Chico – three months after one of their cellphones pinged near Mount Shasta.
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CHP officers and sheriff’s detectives from Siskiyou and Butte searched for Sakamoto and Luna, using the women’s bank and cellphone information to track their path through the northern state. They also used automated license plate readers to search for the Lexus.
Mother and daughter traveled to Susanville in Lassen County on July 21, according to video surveillance.
But the last known ping on Luna’s cell phone was recorded on July 22 in “a remote area between the Mount Shasta Ski Park and Highway 89,” according to Sage Milestone of the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office.
On July 23, Siskiyou County sheriff’s deputies joined the search around the ski park grounds and nearby roads, while the CHP searched by helicopter, according to Milestone.
Officers used K9 units to conduct two more searches of the Mount Shasta Ski Park area and nearby roads on July 24 and August 6; while CHP Northern Air Operations teams searched again by air on July 24 and August 9.
Neither agency found any trace of Sakamoto, Luna or the Lexus, Milestone said.
Siskiyou and Butte police are looking for 84-year-old Dolores Sakamoto, left, and her daughter, 64-year-old Vivian Luna, both of Chico. According to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, neighbors and family reported the mother and daughter missing last summer.
Both women have brown hair and eyes. Sakamoto is 4 feet tall and weighed 120 pounds when she disappeared.
Her daughter, Luna, is 4 feet tall and weighed 110 pounds.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call 911, or if there is no danger, call the Butte County Sheriff’s Office at 530-538-7322.
Jessica Skropanic is a reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, art, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Go away! Not even Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and support this work, subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Family of missing mother, Chico’s daughter offers reward
