An incident involving a Hispanic male who allegedly attempted to lure a 10-year-old girl into his car July 26, 2011 has drawn recent attention from the community, as some have cited that the sketch released of the suspect looks similar to Antolin Garcia Torres, the murder suspect tied to Sierra LaMar’s disappearance.
The suspect approached a girl outside her home on the 7600 block of Miller Avenue in west Gilroy and ordered her to enter his white Honda. The girl did not comply, but ran into her house and told her family members.
The suspect was described as a Hispanic male adult with a goatee with short balding hair or a crew cut.
Some media outlets have connected the sketch of this suspect to Garcia Torres’ booking photo, but Gilroy Police have not identified the suspect yet or announced any possible link to Sierra LaMar.
“Those are other people drawing those conclusions,” Gallacinao said.
The GPD completed their investigation into this incident, and has submitted it to the District Attorney for review.
Another incident occurred Aug. 3, 2011, that appears to be unrelated to the July incident, in which a 20- to 25-year-old Hispanic male attempted to lure three children 15 years old and younger to a local restaurant. Police have not released a sketch of this suspect, but was described as being 5 foot, 8 inches tall and approximately 160 pounds.
Sierra has been missing since March 16. Sheriff’s investigators think she was kidnapped as she was walking to her school bus stop from her home in north Morgan Hill. Sierra was a sophomore at Sobrato High School at the time of her disappearance.
Investigators have not found the teen’s body or any other physical evidence that she is dead. However, authorities think she is dead based on her lack of contact with anyone since the morning of her disappearance.
DNA evidence places Sierra and Garcia Torres together at some point, according to authorities from the sheriff’s and DA’s offices. Sierra’s DNA was found in Garcia Torres’ Volkswagen Jetta, and his DNA was found on some of Sierra’s discarded belongings that were found shortly after she was reported missing.
