Naked body of missing Calif. woman found in Ariz. desert after her 911 call goes to wrong state

The naked body of a California woman has been found in the Arizona desert — more than a month after she went missing when she drove into a ditch and made a 911 call that went to a dispatcher in the wrong state.

Amanda Nenigar, 26, was last seen alive Feb. 28 in Blythe, Calif., and found dead about 7:30 p.m. Friday just outside Cibola, AZ Family reported.

Her body was found about a mile and a half from where her car had been discovered more than three weeks earlier.

“The family has been notified and issued a statement requesting privacy and thanked the public for their assistance in trying to locate Amanda,” the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office announced.

A search-and-rescue expert reportedly spotted Nenigar’s nude body under a tree about a mile and a half from where her vehicle was abandoned along the California-Arizona border.

Investigators believe Nenigar may have been trying to cool off by removing her clothes and finding shade under the tree before she possibly died of exposure, AZ Family said.

“We were hopeful that we could find her alive and that she would be OK. It’s very disheartening when it comes to something like this, and it’s saddening for the family,” Sheriff William Ponce told the news outlet.

He said the woman, whose clothes were found nearby, was identified by a rose tattoo on her right hand.

An autopsy is being conducted to determine the official cause of death.

Nenigar had called 911 for help after going into a ditch — but her call went to a dispatcher in California, not Arizona, in a mix-up that apparently delayed authorities’ response.

“What are you surrounded with? Do you see just fields? Is that all you see?” the dispatcher asks in the 911 call released Thursday, the outlet reported.

Nenigar tells the California Highway Patrol operator, “I’m like kind of in a valley. Yeah, there’s just a lot of mountains.

“But I climbed to like a high mountain, and I’m wearing pink,” she adds.

The dispatcher then asks, “OK, so you’re on Highway 78, you think? And what would be the nearest cross streets?”

Nenigar answers, “Um, I’m not sure. I see a field.”

The operator replies, “I’m trying to get a location on you, but I’m not getting one.”

On March 7, about nine days after Nenigar is believed to have gotten stranded, her car was found abandoned in a remote desert area near Cibola. 

“The rear end of the vehicle was on a large boulder,” Ponce told AZ Family. “When you have a vehicle that’s abandoned, and you don’t have kind of inkling where the person has gone or anything, it all seems very odd to us, and it’s very concerning.”

He said Nenigar apparently had been dead for quite some time when she was finally found.

“Time is critical for us trying to find someone alive. Unfortunately, this is how we ended up in this situation. We’re trying to backtrack on information that wasn’t coming fast enough,” Ponce said.

“Had we gotten that much sooner, I think we could’ve located her alive and been able to bring her home,” he added.

The allegedly confused dispatcher directed rescuers to look for Nenigar on Highway 95, between 30 and 40 miles from where she was stuck in the ditch, AZ Family reported.

When Arizona deputies heard the 911 call, they followed her coordinates and found her body just a mile and a half from where her vehicle had been found more than three weeks earlier. It wasn’t clear at what point Arizona authorities heard the call.

Nenigar’s sister expressed her frustration with the away authorities handled the case.

“I don’t understand how they didn’t find her. I’m still in shock. I’m just really numb, upset and mad,” Marissa Nenigar told the outlet.

“Who knows what she went through, suffering for that many days out there alone. I just don’t understand why she was naked. That’s so crazy,” she said. “Whoever that dispatcher was, he failed my sister horribly, horribly.”

Marissa said her sister had never been in that part of the desert before. It was unclear where she was headed.

“It’s not a familiar area for her to go,” Marissa said.

“I don’t know why they didn’t transfer her to dispatch in Arizona,” Nenigar added. “She gave them her exact location, and someone could have went and got her. They could have found her.”

Before the tragic discovery, the grieving sister wondered if Nenigar’s disappearance involved a crime.

“It’s been so many days like, what if she’s somewhere out there dead? Or what if she’s being human-trafficked? What if somebody kidnapped her?” Marissa said.

After Nenigar’s body was found, her relatives released a statement thanking everyone who helped look for her.

“The family is incredibly grateful to have people like each of you who have volunteered and dedicated their time and resources into finding her,” they said.

“It is with a heavy heart that we must report to you all, she was found deceased last night, Friday March 29th 2024, and is no longer a missing persons case,” the family said.

“We have many questions and have been informed that her death is being investigated and an autopsy will follow. Our hearts are broken and we will miss her dearly. Please grant our family privacy as we mourn the loss of Amanda and prepare for the days ahead of us,” they added.

The La Paz County Sheriff’s Office requested people not to call for updates on the investigation.

“Updates will be released to the public through proper news channels and this page when deemed appropriate,” the sheriff’s office wrote on its Facebook page.