Eight months after she went missing on her way to Joshua Tree National Park, the remains of a California single mom were found in the desert.
Erika Ashley Lloyd, 37, was last seen alive in June when she told roommates and family members she was going on a road trip after spending months of lockdown amid the pandemic.
“Her business got shut down because of COVID,” Lloyd’s mom said. “She had no income. She was homeschooling her child and it was just getting to her.”
Lloyd’s black Honda sedan was found days later and it appeared vandalized.
The windows and radio were smashed and the airbag deployed but with no signs of Lloyd.
On Jan. 31, hikers at Wonder Valley, California discovered human remains that were identified as Lloyd’s through dental records.
“It is with a heavy heart to announce that these remains have been identified by San Bernardino County’s Sheriff Department as my sister Erika,” Colin Lloyd, the victim’s brother, said on Feb. 18.
“There is no easy way for me to tell you all this and there’s no easy way for any of us to receive it.”
“My wish is that we can all lean in a little closer, hold each other more often that we’re here for one another with open arms and endless love; it’s what she would have wanted; it’s the spirit of who she was.”
Lloyd leaves behind a 12-year-old son. Her cause of death is being investigated.
