Haunting photo of missing teen Pearl Pinson, who was snatched off the street 9 years ago and never seen again
Police have plenty of clues to what happened to northern California teen Pearl Pinson, who was kidnapped at gunpoint nine years ago while walking to school.
They have a dead suspect, a getaway car, the gun and zip ties used to kidnap the 15-year-old — and even a fake 'suicide letter' meant to hide the circumstances of her death.
The only thing they don't have is any idea where Pinson is, or what really happened to her.
4 Pearl Pinson was 15 when she was abducted in Vallejo, California, on May 25, 2016.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
Advertisement
The mystery still tortures Pinson's loved ones, who gathered for a candlelight vigil Sunday night at the last place she was seen in 2016 in her Bay Area hometown of Vallejo.
'It gets worse every year,' her father, James Pinson told the Post-Herald last year.
One photo of Pinson that has been widely circulated by her loved ones features the teen staring directly at the camera with one piercing blue eye, the other covered by her dark locks.
Advertisement
It is a haunting reminder that her family has never learned her fate.
The missing persons alert for Pinson has stayed open since witnesses saw a man grab her on a pedestrian overpass, hold her at gunpoint with a .38-caliber revolver and drag her away as she screamed for help on May 25, 2016.
4 This undated photo provided by the California Highway Patrol shows Fernando Castro, suspected of kidnapping Pinson.
AP
Surveillance footage caught a gold Saturn belonging to 19-year-old Fernando Castro leaving the scene, and cops found .38-caliber ammo, zip ties, a homemade gun silencer and a fake 'suicide note' in Castro's house, according to the Daily Republic.
Advertisement
Police spotted Castro himself 30 hours later in Santa Barbara County — a six-hour drive from Vallejo.
Castro led cops on a white-knuckle chase that involved multiple shootouts that finally ended when officers shot him dead as he tried to ram them with his car, according to a report by the Santa Barbara County district attorney's office.
4 Pearl Pinson, who would be 24 years old today.
Pearl Pinson
'Sadly, he may have taken the secret of what happened to Pearl with him to his grave,' the sheriff of Solano County, which includes Vallejo, wrote on Facebook Sunday.
The post came with a reminder that Pinson's case is still open and a call for information that could help authorities locate her.
Advertisement
Pinson's family returns to the scene of her kidnapping every year to honor the lost girl, who is 24 now. They are also pushing for the pedestrian bridge to be named after her.
4 The gold Saturn is suspected to have been driven by Pinson's kidnapper.
But the family has long given up hope that she might be found alive.
'One day I said to myself, 'I may never see her again.' Reality hit,' Pearl's sister Rose told the Post-Herald in 2023.
'Even though there are cases open for 20 plus years and they have people hidden in sheds. … But my sister is not here because she was shot and I believe killed here because of a (expletive) who would rather take a girl instead of getting the mental help he needed or whatever he was going through,' she told the outlet.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
41 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
After Copa America chaos, Hard Rock is strengthening security for Club World Cup
As ticket prices for Saturday's FIFA Club World Cup opener go down and several thousand go unsold, those making plans for the match are hoping it will go smoother than last year's Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Thousands of fans — including those without tickets — stormed the Hard Rock's gates last year to watch the final match between Argentina and Colombia. Dozens were arrested, 55 others were ejected and the game was delayed by over an hour, the Miami Herald previously reported. For Saturday's game featuring Inter Miami vs. Egyptian team Al Ahly, a Hard Rock spokesperson told the Herald in a statement that 'fans should expect to pass through multiple security and ticket check points in order to enter Hard Rock Stadium.' 'As with all stadium events, Hard Rock Stadium officials work in collaboration with local law enforcement agencies and event organizers to establish and enforce security protocols based on the unique needs of each event,' the statement said. ' … Ensuring fan safety continues to be the highest priority for all stadium events.' The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office told the Herald that a ticket-screening process will take place at each of three checkpoints around the Hard Rock property. The Sheriff's Office has been preparing officers for the event, posting last month that its Rapid Deployment Force was training with the Broward Sheriff's Office Quick Response Force. Both teams can be quickly dispatched to major incidents. 'If things go south, we get prepared, we get ready,' Miami-Dade Sgt. Lazaro Rodriguez said in a training video. 'For civil unrest and unruly fans, this will get us ready for those events.' A previous report analyzing the security failures at the Copa America final found miscommunication and a lack of security led to much of last year's chaos, as reported by ESPN. The day before the final, Miami-Dade police had been informed 'that Texas law enforcement 'experienced difficulties removing crowds from the stadium areas' after a separate Copa América match, and that large crowds were forming in the streets near the Colombia team hotel in Florida,' according to the report obtained by ESPN. The Texas report led officials to deploy more police for the game, and ultimately at least 900 were staffed for the event. Despite having hundreds of officers, Hard Rock Stadium had allowed cars with unticketed fans onto the property, which created a security issue that officers weren't equipped to address, according to the report. In a statement Wednesday, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office said: 'The events that unfolded in the 2024 Copa America Final were unprecedented for the entire nation, let alone Miami-Dade County.' Traffic closures for Club World Cup at Hard Rock Stadium In addition to the ticketing checkpoints, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office is also closing some nearby roads three hours before the parking gates open, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The roads will return to normal traffic patterns when the parking lots open. The affected areas are 199th Street from Northwest 27th Avenue to Northwest 14th Court and also Turnpike Exit 2X.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
L.A. pursuit suspect reportedly drives through police skirmish line
A pursuit suspect and three passengers were taken into custody after a dangerous high-speed pursuit that began in downtown L.A. Wednesday night. L.A. police initiated the pursuit at around 10:40 p.m. after the suspect reportedly drove through a police skirmish line in the area of Beverly Boulevard and Wilshire Drive where officers were attempting to contain anti-ICE protesters. From downtown, the driver got on the 110 Freeway where they hit speeds of more than 100 miles per hour while weaving through lanes of traffic with lights blacked, coming dangerously close to sideswiping other motorists. After making it to the southbound lanes of the 405 Freeway, just after 11 p.m., officers with the California Highway Patrol took over the pursuit, prompting the suspect to attempt a U-turn, trying to exit the freeway going the wrong way on an on-ramp. U.S. Marshal wrongly detained by ICE agents in lobby of federal building Police quickly came up behind the suspect, foiling the attempt, though the suspect whipped the vehicle around and continued the chase into Torrance where they exited the freeway and hit speeds of 80 miles per hour on surface streets with CHP trailing the vehicle. While law enforcement was tracking the suspect from the air and the ground, a tire appeared to come off the car near 8th Avenue in L.A. That's where the suspect brought the car to a stop, bailed from the vehicle and continued the pursuit on foot. The suspects were taken into custody by police just moments later, Sky5's Gil Leyvas, who was covering the chase, reported. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
10 hours ago
- New York Post
This is all the riot gear LA cops are using to break up anti-ICE protests amid ‘explosive escalation'
Los Angeles cops have fired hundreds of rounds of less-lethal ammunition, deployed tear gas and flash bangs to break up the anti-ICE protests that have raged for nearly a week across Southern California. More than 200 people were arrested on Tuesday night alone after Mayor Karen Bass instituted a curfew on Los Angeles. 'The most explosive escalation of tensions between demonstrators and police since the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 is currently unfolding in Los Angeles over Trump's 'mass deportation agenda,'' said Kieran Doyle, with Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a group that tracks civil unrest and wars. Advertisement 16 Police in riot gear in downtown Los Angeles during anti-ICE protests. Toby Canham for NY Post 16 A protester getting arrested by the California Highway Patrol in downtown LA on June 10, 2025. AP Here are some of the riot tools that cops are deploying across Los Angeles to stop rioters and control protests. Tear gas Advertisement Also called CS gas, for the active ingredient it uses, the has been deployed by both the LAPD and California Highway Patrol — in the form of hand-held canisters — to disperse hostile crowds. Tear gas is banned for use in warfare under the Geneva Protocol, but is commonly used for riot control by police. 16 Protesters running as police officers use tear gas and flash bangs at the Federal Building in Santa Ana on June 9, 2025. AP 16 A protester washing his eyes out with milk after getting hit with tear gas. eff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP Advertisement 16 A protester wiping her eyes after tear gas was deployed in LA on June 6, 2025. AP Impact rounds or baton rounds This 'less-lethal ammo' is fired from either a specialized launcher or a modified shotgun. These can cause blunt force injuries and lacerations. The LAPD fired off some 600 baton rounds over the weekend, using lighter rubberized foam projectiles in place of traditional rubber bullets, the WSJ reported. Advertisement 16 A police officer firing less lethal munitions at a protester in downtown LA on June 9, 2025. Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images 16 Bruises on a protester's torso after getting hit with 'less-lethal ammo' Photo by16 An officer holding a less lethal munition launcher outside the Edward Roybal Federal Building. Getty Images Many police departments started using these as a less dangerous alternative to rubber bullets, which caused serious injures, including in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Officers are often trained to aim these low so that they bounce off the ground, so as to avoid head injuries. However, New York Post photographer Toby Canham appears to have been shot with one of these rounds directly in the head while snapping images of a riot this week. 16 Cops under a bridge fire a baton round, which New York Post photographer Toby Canham. Toby Canham for NY Post Advertisement 16 Canham was hit by a less-lethal round during the latest unrest in LA. Louise Barnsley He captured an incredible image of the projectile coming straight at him before he was hit. The round left him with a massive wound on his forehead. Similarly, an Australian TV reporter appears to have been shot with one of these rounds live on the air. Pepper balls Authorities in LA have used pepper balls — a less-lethal projectile designed to burst on impact and release pepper spray for crowd control. Advertisement 16 An LA County Sheriff's deputy preparing to use a pepper ball gun during protests in Paramount on June 7, 2025. 16 Police officers firing pepper spray balls at protesters at the Los Angeles Federal Building entrance on June 6, 2025. REUTERS These chemicals can cause a burning sensation to exposed skin, coughing and gagging, and watering and closing off the eyes. These are fired from weapons that look like paintballs guns. Batons Advertisement 16 Police are using different tactics and weapons to try and manage the latest protests. Toby Canham for NY Post 16 A Los Angeles Metro Police officer preparing to swing a baton on June 8, 2025. REUTERS 16 A press photographer wounded during a protest in Compton, LA over the weekend. AP The LAPD and California Highway Patrol have used batons made of either wood, metal or polycarbonate to strike demonstrators. Advertisement Night sticks are among the oldest tools in law enforcement when it comes to crowd control and making arrests of hostile people. 16 A flash bang canister seen on the ground in downtown LA on June 9, 2025. REUTERS Flash bangs (stun grenades) Used by both the military and the police, flash bangs explode with both a blinding flash and a deafening boom. The aim is to disorient targets.
