Family continues to demand answers as third year of Rebecca Modrall’s disappearance approaches
Rebecca Modrall, 33, of Rancho Mirage, was last heard from on February 5, 2019. She was last seen in La Quinta.
Authorities declared the case a homicide investigation, even though Modrall's body has not been found and no arrests have been made.
Three years have passed since she disappeared. Now, the family just wants answers as the investigation seems to have stalled.
“I never would have thought that it would have taken this long. I mean, that’s one of the things when someone goes missing, you don’t think that it’s going to be three years,” said Sarah Modrall.
Sarah Modrall, Rebecca’s mother has been tirelessly looking for answers in her daughter’s disappearance and declared death. Traveling from Portland to the desert to speak with investigators, holding vigils, setting up multiple memorials, erecting a billboard and making herself available to the media, all in an effort to keep Rebecca’s name out there.
“I think the hardest part is not knowing what happened to her and where she is," said Sarah said.
February 5, 2019, Rebecca told a family member she was planning to see her longtime boyfriend at his home in La Quinta at The Polo Estates. She was never heard from again.
Investigators searched the property and surrounding areas to no avail. Weeks later, the boyfriend was found dead of an apparent suicide at his Lake Arrowhead home, as reported by a San Bernardino County Coroner's officer in 2019.
Modrall says the family hasn't gotten many updates or answers from law enforcement on the case. They've had to do some of their own investigative work.
“It is difficult. I would have tried to get a little more answers on my own if I would have known what was ahead right at first, but because I’d never been through this before, I didn’t know exactly what to do and I was totally trusting of law enforcement at the time that they were going to do everything," Sarah said.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department says the case is open and ongoing. At this point both law enforcement and the family say they need the public's help.
“I know there’s people in the desert that know what happened. And, for some reason, they don’t want to say. Please come forward and say something because this case will not be solved without people helping,” Sarah said.
The station has decided against releasing the name of Rebecca's boyfriend because a suspect has not been named in the case and charges were never filed.
Sarah Modrall says she is less concerned about an arrest and more concerned about finding out what happened to her daughter.
If you would like to report information pertaining to this case call: Master Investigator IV Martin Alfaro with Riverside County Sheriff's Central Homicide Unit: (760) 393-3528.
