Search for Sierra LaMar comes to close

After nearly three years of searching every Saturday for a missing Morgan Hill teen, has finally come to a close. Three years since her disappearance, Sierra LaMar is still missing and Antolin Garcia Torres, the man accused of kidnapping and killing her, still awaits his trial.

It’s become a routine; nearly every Saturday for the past three years, volunteer Mary Doering has been searching. But that routine is about to change. In an emotional announcement, the parents of missing teenager Sierra LaMar called off the weekly Saturday searches because they said there’s nowhere else to look.

“We never thought this would happen to us, but it did. Everybody, even the media, has really helped to sustain us,” Sierra LaMar’s mother, Marlene LaMar, said.

Monday marks three years since Sierra was last seen on March 16, 2012. She disappeared on her way to a school bus stop in Morgan Hill. The support for the LaMar family was immediate. 700 people, including strangers like Doering, set out to bring Sierra home.

“I was shocked, and heartbroken, my heart just went out to the family,” search team member Mary Doering said.

Although volunteer numbers have dwindled over the years, many stayed. Search organizers said volunteers have logged more than 54,000 hours together, in 1,130 different searches.

Pictures prove their efforts and Sierra’s family said they’re still amazed by the dedication.

“Not even knowing Sierra, or any of us, and have been so dedicated to us. It’s just amazing to me, still, even after three years,” Sierra LaMar’s father, Steve LaMar, said.

Even on the last search, volunteers didn’t face defeat, trudging through thick brush for any sign of her.

“We want to find her. She needs to be brought home, one way or another,” Doering said.

As always, they prayed before heading out, but this time with heavier hearts.

The LaMars, and many of the volunteers, said in order for closure, they need the trial to start.