According to a statement from the California Highway Patrol (CHP), CHP troopers spent about five hours searching for Nenniger after she reported the accident on February 27. Nenniger's body was found a month later in Arizona.
LA PAZ COUNTY, Ariz. — The California Highway Patrol says it is investigating the death of a missing woman who was found dead while waiting for help in the Arizona desert after a crash, despite providing GPS coordinates to 911 operators.
In a statement released April 8, the CHP said that after Amanda Neniger reported the accident on Feb. 27, CHP units spent approximately five hours searching for her.
Spanish version: California agents searched for Amanda Neniger for five hours after the crash and called 911 for help.
Neniger's body was discovered in La Paz County, Arizona, on March 29 after her family reported her missing in California on February 28, a month earlier.
Nenniger called 911 after the accident, telling the operator he had fallen asleep at the wheel and didn't know what road he was on or what city he was in.
She was also confused about how long she had been there.
Nenniger said the 911 operator she spoke to showed her how to find her GPS coordinates on Google Maps, which revealed she was in Blythe, California, a town on Interstate 10 just west of the California-Arizona border.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) said in a statement on April 8 that CHP units from Winter Haven and Blythe were dispatched to search for Neniger. The CHP said units were unable to find Neniger.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) Border Patrol was also called in after Neniger's whereabouts were unknown.
“After efforts to locate her on the ground were unsuccessful, Border Patrol dispatched an aircraft to search for the victim,” the California Highway Patrol said.
Troops ultimately searched for Neniger from 9:40 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on February 27, after which the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said it had “ended” its search for the missing woman.
“Unfortunately, she was not found that day,” the California Highway Patrol said. “Her body was discovered a month later in Arizona.”
The full statement from the CHP is below:
At approximately 8:23 AM on February 27, 2024, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) El Centro Communications Center received a 911 call from a woman reporting she had been involved in an accident. Dispatchers who intercepted the initial call worked with the caller over the next hour to locate her so officers could be dispatched to the scene. The caller's name was identified as Amanda Neniger.
Neniger's location was unknown, but at 9:40 a.m., California Highway Patrol (CHP) troopers from Winter Haven and Blythe districts were dispatched to search their respective areas. After efforts to find Neniger on the ground were unsuccessful, Border Patrol sent an airplane to search for the victim. At approximately 2:30 p.m., searchers were unable to find Neniger and the search efforts were terminated.
“Unfortunately, she was not found that day; her body was discovered one month later in Arizona. The investigation into the facts and circumstances of Ms. Neniger's death is ongoing and any further inquiries should be directed to the La Paz County Sheriff's Department.”
As 12News previously reported, true-crime documentary YouTuber Gray Hughes said the operator Nenniger spoke to likely made the fatal error of recording the coordinates in decimal degrees instead of degrees, minutes and seconds.
“She gave us the GPS coordinates and we located it 10 miles away on Highway 95,” Hughes said.
Two weeks after Neniger called 911, her car was found in a secluded area south of the town of Cibola in La Paz County, Arizona.
La Paz County Sheriff William Ponce told 12 News that's when his department stepped in and conducted a ground and air search for Neniger.
“She was in a remote area, desert, mountainous region, no paved roads or anything like that,” Ponce said.
Those who helped search for Neniger said they believe all the clues were there all along and that this coincidence could have cost Neniger his life.
The Nenniger family has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses. Anyone who would like to donate can click here.
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