Family looking for missing woman finds her body in the desert, California cops say

A family searching for a missing woman discovered her body in the desert, California sheriff’s officials reported.

The remains found near Yucaipa at about 9:12 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, have been identified as those of Amy Porter, 43, of Lake Elsinore, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

Porter, a member of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, was last seen Sept. 14 in Lake Elsinore, KTLA reported. The California Highway Patrol issued a “Feather Alert” for a missing indigenous person.

Her family began searching the desert near Yucaipa after learning Porter’s car had been towed from the area, KCAL reported.

Porter’s younger brother initially found her body, the family told KTLA.

“I ran as fast as I could to her and I didn’t even see her,” cousin Angelica Lyons told KCAL. “I saw her foot and I knew it was her just by her tattoo.”

An autopsy will determine how Porter died, sheriff’s officials said.

“Unfortunately we were the ones to have to find her,” Lyons told KABC. “But we know we found our loved one.”

Investigators ask anyone with information about her death to call Detective Daniel Berumen at 909-890-4904.

Yucaipa is about a 70-mile drive east from Los Angeles.

This story was originally published September 24, 2024 at 8:57 AM with the headline "Family looking for missing woman finds her body in the desert, California cops say."