March 12, 2020 - The California Senate has created a new Select Committee on Missing Persons, which Senator Cathleen Galgiani chairs.
The Select Committee will examine how missing and unidentified person’s cases are processed and will look to strengthen and further this important area of law enforcement.
The Sheriff has been working with Jeffrey L. Rinek, Special Agent FBI Ret., and Senator Cathleen Galgiani for the committee’s first informational hearing which was held yesterday. You may recognize FBI Jeffrey Rinek’s name because the Sheriff’s Office worked closely with Jeff during the Sund/Pelloso missing persons case in 1999 – 2003.
The presentation consisted of speakers representing the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) along with Mariposa County Sheriff’s Deputy Alyssa Carroll and a police department communications supervisor, along with a District Attorney’s investigator. The FBI’s Violent Crime Apprehension Program (VICAP) along with a representative from NamUS, the federal missing person’s database and a representative from the California Department of Justice Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit (MUPS) were also present to present to the Senate Committee.
The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office investigates several overdue/missing persons every year including a large international population, as Mariposa County/Yosemite NP is a well-known visitor destination.
The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office is known for our detailed missing person investigations along with our unidentified persons cases unit.
The goal is to familiarize the Senate Committee with how missing/unidentified persons cases are investigated in the state of California and how to improve/streamline information sharing between the Federal, State and Local agencies to ensure that all resources are being used to find and identify missing persons to bring closure to loved ones and aid in the successful prosecution of perpetrators.
Mariposa County Sheriff’s Deputy Alyssa Carroll did a fantastic job in presenting to the Senate Committee. We are proud of Deputy Alyssa Carroll for her efforts and her professional representation of Mariposa County.
Source: Mariposa County Sheriff's Office
