Friends & family of the six people missing in the Idyllwild area speak out
UPDATE - 8/7/20:
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department confirmed on Friday that Jade Kemerer and Venessa Vlasek have been found safe.
DETAILS: Two of the six missing people last seen near Idyllwild area found safe
Original Report - 8/6/20
On Wednesday, News Channel 3's I-Team updated you on the six individuals that have gone missing in the Idyllwild-Pine Cove area over the past five months.
Fliers are posted in the town of Idyllwild and the surrounding communities as far away as Anza and Hemet at the bottom of the San Jacinto Mountains.
Those close to some of the missing six spoke with CBS San Diego's David Gotfredson about the situation.
Full CBS 8 Story: Detectives investigate 6 missing person cases in and around Idyllwild
"It's just a weird coincidence that there's this many locals missing," said Gabbi Rose, a former coworker of Jade Kemerer.
Kemerer, 30, checked out of the Bluebird Cottage Inn in Idyllwild with her son on July 22. Her family picked her son from the Bluebird Cottage Inn and flew back to Ohio but they have not from Kemerer since that day. There are reports she was seen on July 25 in Riverside where her car broke down. She hasn't been heard from since.
"Jade is not always the most responsible person, but I will tell you she loves her son Henly, and I don't think she would have left her son without telling someone that she was leaving," Rose said.
Kendra Johnson, 20, of La Jolla has been searching for her father, Roy Prifogle, 52, since March.
"I know that he's probably gone, but I mean we still have some hope," Johnson said.
Prifogle was last seen on March 4 at the Pine Cove Market. Search teams looked in the area for days but only found his backpack on a nearby, rugged trail.
"I think maybe he put down his backpack and went back to get water and maybe he lost his footing or something," Johnson said.
Melissa Lane, 41, was reported missing on July 4. She was last seen in Pine Cove headed to Idyllwild. Her phone and her belongings were left behind at her boyfriend's house.
"She hasn't called anybody she knows. She just disappeared," said Lane's mother, who asked only to be identified by her first name, Kathy.
Lane's mother said Melissa exited a relative’s vehicle near the trailhead to Black Mountain Truck Trail, located eight miles north of Idyllwild, and she was never seen again.
Kathy said she spent weeks looking for Lane.
"I think it’s a predator. They could be stealing people for the sex-slave trade or it could be a serial killer," Kathy said.
There are three more missing women who were last seen in the span of a couple of weeks.
Venessa Vlasek, age 27, has been missing since June 21 in the Idyllwild area.
Rosario Garcia, 73, has been missing from nearby Hemet since July 7. Authorities believe she may have been headed towards a family member's home in Hesperia, but she never arrived and hasn't been heard from since leaving her home.
Garcia suffered from dementia, according to her family.
Her vehicle was found abandoned on a dirt road on the 70000 block of Highway 74 near the Pinyon Pines area on July 9.
Lydia "Dia" Abrams was reported missing June 7 in the Mountain Center/Garner Valley area. Abrams, 65, has a ranch off of Apple Canyon road. Her property was searched for three days to no avail.
So far, detectives have not released any evidence indicating foul play or that any of the six cases are related.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department responded to our request for information on the six cases by writing in part, "We have not received any new updates on the missing persons incidents, however, all investigations are still open and ongoing."
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage on this case.
