California couple missing for days found dead in Nevada Co. encampment

2 years ago

Nevada County news, Nevada news.

The family of a missing California woman and her ex-boyfriend is outraged after it took authorities several days to find out that they died in a crash.

Janette “JJ” Pantoja, 29, and her ex-boyfriend Juan Almanza Zavala, 36, were killed in a car crash down an embankment in Nevada County.

Pantoja had texted her current boyfriend informing him that she would be home in half an hour but never returned.

“She just never communicated anything other than that,” sister Alejandra said. “She’s not like that.”

To see also:
  • Body of missing man found in Tippecanoe River after he went fishing, never returned
  • The deadly crash that killed Pantoja and Zavala took place less than 70 miles from the Tahoe National Park campground where 16-year-old Kiely Rodni vanished on Aug. 6, sparking a massive search.

    The victims’ relatives were frustrated that the two cases did not get the same level of attention from detectives.

    “I thought the police were pretty rude,” Alejandra said. “I called them…because I wanted to know about my sister and they were like, ‘We can’t keep in contact with you every day’.”

    “They’ve been telling us they were going to send aerial search and they haven’t done that. I just feel like if something happened to them, or if he did something to her, they’re just giving [potential suspects] time to run.”