Post by ex member on Jun 16, 2005 10:31:26 GMT -5
Skull found in La Quinta identified as that
of missing Cathedral City woman, Susan Russum
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
The search for missing Cathedral City resident Susan Russum came to an end today. The skull found in a La Quinta vineyard last week has been identified as belonging to the 51-year-old.
It took investigators 6 days to identify the skull as that of Susan Russum's. Tests were done at the coroner's office in Perris and we're told they were able to ID the skull through dental records.
Russum mysteriously disappeared back on April 7th. Her SUV was spotted in a remote area in La Quinta near Lake Cahuilla. Police say it had been abandoned.
The sheriff's department flew helicopters over the area and search teams with dogs walked the mountains, looking for the Cathedral City woman, but nothing turned up.
Sheriff's investigators say Russum had recently injured her ankle, and deputies say she had other problems, too at the time of her disappearance.
Just days after she disappeared, family and friends put up posters in La Quinta. There was even a reward for several thousand dollars for any information about her disappearance.
Last week a worker found the skull in a vineyard near Monroe and Avenue 62.
We talked to family and friends of Russum who say the positive identification finally brings them some closure.
Though emotionally torn by the forensic results, it’s the answer Susan Russum's family had expected.
In an interview last Friday, Russum's brother-in-law said the family had even been hoping her remains would be identified so they could have peace of mind.
“We're hoping it is her, so we can have closure,” he told us last week. “We're just sitting, waiting for a call to let us know if it is or isn't. That gets to your brain or your heart.”
Russum lived at the Desert Princess Resort in Cathedral City and worked at Maxim Health Services in Palm Desert as an at home nurse. She disappeared while on her way to work in La Quinta, back in April and was last heard from when she used her cell phone to call for directions.
Russum's SUV was found abandoned near Lake Cahuilla, off a trail. Now, just two months after that was found, her skull was found two miles away, over these mountains.
That skull was found in a vineyard between rows of grapes by a farm worker. Police believe it may have been carried here by a wild animal.
Though part of this tragic story has now ended, there is still much more to it. Russum's family still wants to know what happened and, of course, why.
Answers they say they know may never come.
www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=3480485&nav=9qrxb5Ur
of missing Cathedral City woman, Susan Russum
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
The search for missing Cathedral City resident Susan Russum came to an end today. The skull found in a La Quinta vineyard last week has been identified as belonging to the 51-year-old.
It took investigators 6 days to identify the skull as that of Susan Russum's. Tests were done at the coroner's office in Perris and we're told they were able to ID the skull through dental records.
Russum mysteriously disappeared back on April 7th. Her SUV was spotted in a remote area in La Quinta near Lake Cahuilla. Police say it had been abandoned.
The sheriff's department flew helicopters over the area and search teams with dogs walked the mountains, looking for the Cathedral City woman, but nothing turned up.
Sheriff's investigators say Russum had recently injured her ankle, and deputies say she had other problems, too at the time of her disappearance.
Just days after she disappeared, family and friends put up posters in La Quinta. There was even a reward for several thousand dollars for any information about her disappearance.
Last week a worker found the skull in a vineyard near Monroe and Avenue 62.
We talked to family and friends of Russum who say the positive identification finally brings them some closure.
Though emotionally torn by the forensic results, it’s the answer Susan Russum's family had expected.
In an interview last Friday, Russum's brother-in-law said the family had even been hoping her remains would be identified so they could have peace of mind.
“We're hoping it is her, so we can have closure,” he told us last week. “We're just sitting, waiting for a call to let us know if it is or isn't. That gets to your brain or your heart.”
Russum lived at the Desert Princess Resort in Cathedral City and worked at Maxim Health Services in Palm Desert as an at home nurse. She disappeared while on her way to work in La Quinta, back in April and was last heard from when she used her cell phone to call for directions.
Russum's SUV was found abandoned near Lake Cahuilla, off a trail. Now, just two months after that was found, her skull was found two miles away, over these mountains.
That skull was found in a vineyard between rows of grapes by a farm worker. Police believe it may have been carried here by a wild animal.
Though part of this tragic story has now ended, there is still much more to it. Russum's family still wants to know what happened and, of course, why.
Answers they say they know may never come.
www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=3480485&nav=9qrxb5Ur