Investigators continue to search for leads in disappearance of Pearl Pinson

Investigators say they will continue following leads in the disappearance of 15-year-old Pearl Pinson, who was last seen being dragged off by a man who later died in a gun battle with police.

Authorities have not searched for Pearl since Saturday, when they called off an intense effort in the Willow Creek area in Sonoma Coast State Park, according to the Solano County Sheriff’s Office. Crews spent two days looking for Pearl from the air and ground, but found no signs of her.

However, sheriff’s officials are urging the public to call their tip line at (707) 784-1963 with any information on Pearl’s whereabouts.

“Investigators continue to follow up on leads and any future search will depend on where those leads take us,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

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Meanwhile, friends and family have not given up hope that the missing teen will be found.

“She’s alive, and I know it,” Rose Pinson, Pearl’s sister, told NBC-TV Bay Area. “I believe she is going to be found.”

Pearl’s sister also created a Go Fund Me page for the family’s search efforts. Pearl’s disappearance has triggered grief among people who knew the Jesse Bethel High School student.

Cindy Dashner said she was Pearl’s first-grade teacher, and has never forgotten her.

“Pearl was so special to me from 1st grade, & I always carry her in my heart (& your family),” she wrote on the website. “I’ve been devastated by these reports, crying & praying for a safe return.”

Pearl was kidnapped Wednesday in Vallejo while walking to a school bus stop near her home. Authorities think Pearl is injured, based on witness accounts and evidence found at the scene of her abduction.

Debby Rhoads said she served Pearl breakfast every morning at school.

“I enjoyed seeing and talking to her,” she wrote. “I am distraught over her disappearance. It was easy to like her.”

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A witness saw the girl being pulled away by an armed man at a pedestrian bridge that crosses Interstate 780, the Sheriff’s Office said. She was reportedly bleeding and screaming for help as she was dragged off. The witness ran to help and heard a gunshot, authorities said.

At the pedestrian bridge, deputies found blood on the ground.

The next day, the California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert for Pearl and identified 19-year-old Fernando Castro as her kidnapper.

Hours after the alert, Castro was spotted in a vehicle at 3:10 p.m. near Los Alamos heading south alone on the 101 Freeway. At one point, he drove the wrong way on the freeway, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kelly Hoover.

Authorities followed Castro into Solvang, where he crashed into a barricade at a mobile home park.

Castro broke into a mobile home and barricaded himself inside, while a woman who lived there managed to escape without injury. Castro then jumped into a Toyota Tundra truck at the home and tried to flee.

Castro exchanged gunfire with deputies as they closed in on him. He was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.

Authorities said Castro was an acquaintance of Pearl’s. He often was seen roaming around her neighborhood, her sister said.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

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