LA PAZ COUNTY, Ariz. — A California woman found dead in western Arizona tried calling for help after she crashed her car in the desert, according to a California Highway Patrol (CHP) 911 call.
The La Paz County Sheriff's Office said Amanda Nenigar, 26, was found dead one month after she was reported missing.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: La mujer desaparecida de California que fue encontrada muerta al oeste de Arizona intentó que los operadores del 911 la ayudaran
"Are you guys going to find me," Nenigar asked 911 operators.
Nenigar told the operators she fell asleep while driving and crashed her car in the desert. She wasn't sure which road she was traveling on or which city she was in.
She also was confused about how long she had been out there.
“Everybody is probably worried sick about me," Nenigar said.
One operator instructed Nenigar on how to find her coordinates in Google Maps, which he said placed her in Blythe, California, a town on Interstate 10 just west of the California-Arizona border.
He told her they'd be looking for her there by air, but police never found her.
“Even though she gave him her exact coordinates in the beginning of the 911 call, he still did not find her, they didn’t find her," Marissa Nenigar, Amanda Nenigar's sister, told 12News.
Two weeks after Amanda Nenigar went missing on Feb. 27, her car was found in a remote area of La Paz County, south of the town of Cibola.
That's when La Paz County Sheriff William Ponce told 12News his department became involved, searching by ground and air for Nenigar.
“Where she was located is remote desert, mountainous terrain, no paved roads or anything of that nature," Ponce said.
Despite all measures, Ponce said their searches were unsuccessful.
A search party of family and friends eventually found Nenigar dead under a tree on March 29.
“We believe she was trying to get out of the elements, to seek cover," Ponce said.
Ponce said an autopsy still needs to be conducted, but he does not believe there was foul play.
Nenigar's family is remembering her as a loving mother, daughter, sister and friend.
“Very caring, loving, beautiful soul," Marissa Nenigar said.
They're also questioning why 911 operators and first responders failed to find her the day she went missing.
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“I want what happened to her to never happen to another person who calls 911 in the middle of nowhere and needs help," Marissa Nenigar said.
Even though Nenigar was in Arizona, Sheriff Ponce said poor cell service likely bounced her call to California Highway Patrol 911 operators.
He doesn't know exactly why the call was never transferred to Arizona.
“Based on what she’s saying it seems she’s very unaware of where she’s at so that adds to the reason the call wasn’t transferred to our area," Ponce said.
12News reached out to California Highway Patrol for answers to questions about the 911 call, but so far, they have not been able to provide that information.
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