Monday, investigators working on the LaMar case asked for the public's help in locating a red Jetta with a black hood. Sheriff's investigators are not saying when the vehicle was found, where it was found, or if a tip from the public directed deputies to the car.
They did release three actual surveillance photos of the car of interest in the case and say the vehicle will undergo a through forensic analysis.
Authorities know who owns the car, but say they do not have a person of interest yet in the case and still want the public's help in identifying when and where people have seen the car, especially in the south county area and especially around Mar. 16 when Sierra disappeared from her Morgan Hill home.
This is a huge break in the case of the missing teenager, but investigators are releasing minimal information about this and even the family has a lot of questions. Coincidentally, Sierra's parents have an update meeting scheduled with detectives for later this evening.
"I am going into it with hundreds of questions like you and everyone has, and my feeling is I'm going to ask them and it's up to them whether they can tell me or not, and I understand if they can't tell me," said Sierra's father, Steve LaMar.
Asked if he believes Sierra is still alive, San Jose Police Sgt. Jose Cardoza said, "We still do believe she's alive. We don't have any evidence leading in the direction that she's not longer alive. So yes, we do still believe she's still alive and our primary focus and goal is to locate her, find her, and bring her home back safely to her family."
Despite that answer to our direct question, the sheriff's dive team is exploring waterways in the South County area. They were out there earlier today and will be out there later this week searching additional reservoirs.
The sheriff's office is stressing that they still want any information the public can provide about the time and location people may have seen the red Jetta. The public can contact investigators at (408) 808-4500 or via the anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431.
