Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Public’s Help Sought in Search for Woman

PALMDALE —  Sheriff’s homicide detectives asked for the public’s help Tuesday in their search for a 19-year-old Palmdale woman who disappeared 10 days ago.

Ruth Carolina Barneond, who lived with her 2-year-old son and mother, has not been seen since Feb. 5, when she left a friend’s apartment near downtown Palmdale at 2 a.m., investigators said.

Deputies were particularly concerned because Barneond’s acquaintances may have been involved in a violent crime last year.

“She has friends that were believed to have been involved in a murder in Mexico in 1994,” said Rick Graves, a sheriff’s homicide investigator. “We’ve contacted the Mexican consulate for more information. She’s not considered a witness or a suspect in that murder.

“We’re also investigating the possibility that she was abducted against her will by persons unknown,” Graves said. “She may be the victim of foul play unrelated to the Mexican investigation.”

Barneond was last seen leaving her friend’s apartment complex in the 38600 block of 10th Street East, preparing to drive to her own apartment a few blocks away, deputies said.

The next day, family members found her car, a black 1994 Ford escort, in a section of her apartment complex’s parking lot that was not near her unit. “They found it with the keys in the ignition, and the doors unsecured,” Graves said.

Deputies opened a homicide investigation last week because of the suspicious circumstances.

Barneond, who was graduated from Highland High School in Palmdale last year, had been working as a waitress and attending Antelope Valley College. “There’s no indication of her being involved in any illegal activity whatsoever, either now or in her past,” Graves said.

Deputies described the woman as a Latina, 5-foot-4, 120 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair and a red rose tattoo on her left shoulder blade. She was last seen wearing a gray sweat shirt, blue jeans, silver hoop earrings and black and white athletic shoes.

To aid in the search, Barneond’s friends have begun distributing posters and flyers in various Antelope Valley locations.

Deputies urged anyone with information to call the Antelope Valley Sheriff’s Station, (805) 948-8466, or homicide detectives Graves or Joe Martinez at (213) 890-5500.