Hunt goes on for mom who vanished on pandemic ‘road trip’ to California national park
As the coronavirus pandemic dragged on, Erika Lloyd was feeling the strain.
“Being (in) lockdown for almost three months, not being able to work, and she was trying to home-school her son, it was starting to get to her, the pressure, and not having any income,” said her mom, Ruth Lloyd, KESQ reported.
On June 14, the 37-year-old woman left her home in Walnut Creek, California, for a road trip getaway to Joshua Tree National Park — and vanished, KNTV reported.
Friends and family initially hoped Erika Lloyd, who has a 12-year-old son, was spending some time alone at the rugged desert park to get away from it all.
“We hope that she’s going to be found at a campsite and she’s just, ‘oh, I was just taking some time for myself,’” said friend Carissa Manzo, KNTV reported.
But California Highway Patrol officers found Erika Lloyd’s black 2006 Honda Accord abandoned along Highway 62 near Twentynine Palms a few days after her disappearance, The San Bernardino County Sentinel reported. The front and back windows had been shattered.
More than a month later, her family wonders if she’d wandered off after being injured in a crash.
“We don’t know if she had some memory loss when she got hit by the airbag,” said Ruth Lloyd, KESQ reported. “Maybe she doesn’t know who she is, we don’t know, we aren’t sure about her mental (state).”
The family has hired a cave and mine expert to search for Erika Lloyd in the extremely rugged national park, where numerous hikers have died after becoming injured or lost, according to the station.
Erika Lloyd deleted her Facebook account before leaving for Joshua Tree National Forest, according to The San Bernardino County Sentinel.
A GoFundMe account set up to help search for her had raised more than $8,000 as of Aug. 2.
The California Highway Patrol asked that anyone with information on Erika Lloyd call the Walnut Creek Police Department at (925) 935-6400 or the Morongo Basin CHP office at (760) 366-3707.
This story was originally published August 2, 2020 at 12:21 PM.