Foundation to announce contribution to help find missing Los Gatos woman
By Gloria I. Wang
A Northern California missing persons group has joined forces with the family and friends of missing Los Gatos woman Jeanine Sanchez Harms.
On Sept. 6, the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation is expected to make an announcement that the organization will give $5,000 to Harms' reward fund.
Members of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department and representatives from the Sanchez family will be at the news conference, set for 11 a.m. in the town council chambers at 110 E. Main St.
Harms' parents, Jesus and Georgette Sanchez, will most likely not attend the press conference, said family spokeswoman Lucy Sanchez Crumpton, Harms' aunt. Crumpton said that her brother and sister-in-law are avoiding most public appearances, a recent radio interview being one exception. "They are very devastated, and they just feel like they don't want to be in front of cameras," said Crumpton, who lives in Los Gatos.
Crumpton said that the family has received phone calls from representatives from the California State Assembly and United States Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who expressed their support. Crumpton has also spoken with Susan Levy, mother of missing intern Chandra Levy. "We've been trying to keep it out in the open so people don't forget about her," Crumpton said.
Two billboards with Harms' picture and a contact number were installed, one in San Francisco and the other in San Jose. The San Francisco billboard is scheduled to stay up until the beginning of September, with the San Jose billboard expected to stay up for several more weeks.
The Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation, based in Modesto, was founded to help families of missing persons establish reward funds for helpful information. The foundation is named after the woman who was reported missing in February 1999, along with her daughter Juli and friend Silvina Pelosso. After their bodies were found in Yosemite, a local man, Cary Stayner, was arrested and eventually confessed to killing the three women.
"We very much appreciate the participation of this group that understands the plight and the anguish of the Sanchez family," said Sgt. Kerry Harris of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.
Harms, 42, has been missing since July 27. Police recently released the name of the man who is believed to be the last person to see her: 42-year-old Maurice Nasmeh, who reportedly went back to Harms' Chirco Drive home with her after they met at a bar in Campbell. Nasmeh told police that when he left Harms' home at 12:30 or 1 a.m., she was sleeping on her couch.
Nasmeh was cooperative in initial interviews with police but reportedly refused to talk to them later on the advice of his lawyer. Police released his name and photograph to the public on Aug. 24, evidently to pressure Nasmeh into speaking with them. It is within Nasmeh's rights to refuse interviews, however, Harris said. "He could always take the fifth," Harris said. "[But] that's a bit of a bummer."
|
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
