A harrowing 911 call has revealed the confused moments a California woman tried to explain where she was just hours before she disappeared.
Amanda Nenigar, 26, was reported missing on February 28 after she ran aground in the Arizona desert in Cibola, about 20 miles from her home in Blythe, California.
In the newly released audio, she was heard struggling to describe her surroundings to a dispatcher, saying: ‘Um, I’m not sure, I see a field.’
Her family says she provided near-exact coordinates to where her car was later found on March 7 — without Nenigar’s belongings inside — when her sister Marissa chimed in after police responded that she feels confused by the search.
“She gave them her coordinates,” she said KKTV. ‘I don’t know why they didn’t transfer her to dispatch in Arizona. She gave them her exact location and someone could have gone and picked her up. They could have found her.’
Amanda Nenigar, 26, was reported missing on February 28 after she ran aground in the Arizona desert and has not been found since.
On March 7, searchers found her vehicle abandoned in a remote area in Cibola, Arizona, about 20 miles from her home in Blythe, California. Her belongings were not in the car
Her sister Marissa (pictured) hit out after the search, claiming they bungled the search for the missing 26-year-old as co-ordinators were confused about her location
Nenigar’s family says the critical error that has led to her being missing for nearly a month may have been where her 911 call was directed.
The 26-year-old called from the remote location in Arizona, but the 911 call was directed to California dispatchers, which her family says added to the confusion over what she described.
She was heard on the call sounding confused and describing vague landmarks as a dispatcher asked her: ‘What are you surrounded by? Do you just see fields? Is that all you see?’
“I’m kind of in a valley,” she replied.
‘Yeah, there’s just a lot of mountains… I climbed up to like a tall mountain and I’m wearing pink.’
The 911 operator asked her ‘so you’re on the 78 freeway, you think? And what would be the nearest cross streets?’
“Um, I’m not sure, I see a field,” Nenigar said as the dispatcher admitted he struggled to get a navigation signal from her call.
“I’m trying to get a location on you, but I’m not getting one,” he said.
The call was made on February 27 and Nenigar was reported missing by her family the next day after they were unable to get hold of her.
The 26-year-old called from the remote Arizona location, but the 911 call was directed to California dispatchers, which her family says added to the confusion over what she described
She was heard on the call struggling to describe her surroundings to a dispatcher, saying: ‘Um, I’m not sure, I see a field’
When the vehicle was discovered, its rear wheel was propped up on a boulder
After weeks of searching for the missing woman, her vehicle was found by the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office in a remote desert area in Cibola, Arizona – with its rear wheel propped up on top of a boulder.
Her sister said the find has left her family confused as ‘she’s never been to that part of the desert.’
“It’s not familiar territory for her to walk,” sister Merissa Nenigar added.
She criticized authorities for what she considered a botched investigation, with the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office reportedly only becoming aware of the 911 call the day before when they became involved.
It’s not clear how much time passed between California investigators receiving the missing person’s tip and the Arizona sheriff’s office becoming aware of the 911 call.
The sheriff’s office discovered that the California dispatcher was confused by the coordinates Nenigar provided over the phone.
Despite being heard in the 911 call asking Nenigar if she was on Highway 78, he allegedly sent police to look for her along Highway 95, about 40 miles from where the car was found.
When Arizona deputies joined the search and listened to the call, they were able to track her coordinates to just over a mile from where the car was found.
Nenigar’s family say they are increasingly worried about her because they fear she may have been kidnapped or trafficked
Her family say they are increasingly worried about the lengthy search, as there has been no sign of her since and none of her belongings were in the car.
‘Her phone goes straight to voicemail. Different people have tried to call her because maybe, I don’t know, she wanted to disappear and she blocked everyone, but no, that’s not the case. Her phone goes straight to voicemail,” Marissa added.
‘It’s been so many days like, what if she’s out there somewhere dead? Or what if she gets trafficked? What if someone kidnapped her? I have no idea. No one knows.
‘We just want to know she’s okay. We want her to come home.’
Officials say they have searched the area with drones, helicopters, ground teams and cadaver dogs, but so far have found no trace.
If you have information on the whereabouts of Amanda Nenigar, please call the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 669-6141.