Elizabeth Larson – Record-Bee staff
MIDDLETOWN ? Almost a week after the first anniversary of a Middletown woman”s disappearance, local authorities launched another search of the property where she lived.
The search is still very much alive for Starr Hill, who was reportedly last seen on May 18, 2005.
So far, however, police have found that their investigation has led mostly to dead ends. One of the few notable pieces of evidence in the case ? a cell phone found last October along Highway 29 that apparently belonged to Starr Hill ? yielded no conclusive information.
On Wednesday morning, the Lake County Sheriff”s Office executed a search warrant at 15278 Western Mine Road, the 37-acre property where Starr Hill lived with her husband, Curtis.
Curtis Hill reported his 43-year-old wife walked away from their home following an argument. He reported that he came home the following day from his former job as a firefighter in Contra Costa County to find that she had left him an angry note and taken her purse and some other personal belongings.
Starr Hill had been known to leave for extended periods following fights; her daughter, April Robinson, and Curtis Hill both confirmed that she was apt to leave home if upset. But after several days passed with no sign of Starr returning home, a concerned Robinson reported her mother missing. Robinson said she and her mother rarely passed a day without talking on the phone.
Within a week of her disappearance, the Lake County Sheriff”s Office, K-Corps and Search and Rescue searched the Western Mine Road property for the first time, coming away empty-handed.
This time, detectives searched the property using five canine specialized search teams from the state”s Office of Emergency Services.
During a daylong search, the dogs ? which search for human remains ? could locate no evidence of the missing woman.
The sheriff”s office reported that Curtis Hill was not present during this search warrant service. Robinson said he is now back in Hawaii, where he and Starr purchased a cave tour business near Hilo.
On Friday, Sheriff Rod Mitchell said the case”s lead detective, Corey Paulich, felt the search was “exhaustive.”
“They did try to redo and expand the grid as much as possible,” Mitchell said, the grid being the specific search area.
Investigators intended to leave no stone unturned, Mitchell said.
Robinson was deeply disappointed by the results of Wednesday”s search. She said she felt the search warrant was “our last resource.”
Of the chances of finding her mother”s remains, Robinson said, “I”ve basically given up hope today.”
However, the sheriff”s office doesn”t appear to be giving up yet.
A DNA profile for Starr Hill has been created, said Mitchell, which will be sent to the Department of Justice”s Missing Persons DNA Program (for more information on the program, see “At a glance.”)
Mitchell said his detectives continue to work the case. “They are conducting more interviews subsequent to the search.”
The Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to finding Starr Hill, a reward first offered in February.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call Detective Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff”s Department, 262-4200.
Contact Elizabeth Larson at elarson@record-bee.com.
n At A Glance
DNA program may hold case”s future
Although few clues have been found as to the whereabouts of Starr Hill, there is still a possibility that the missing woman may eventually be located, thanks to a state Department of Justice program.
In January 2001, state Senate Bill 1818 established the Missing Persons DNA Program.
According to a report on state Attorney General Bill Lockyer”s Web site, ag.ca.gov, the program “uses DNA analysis and data matching to determine the identity of missing persons.”
Sheriff Rod Mitchell confirmed that a DNA profile of Hill is being sent to the program.
The profiles are stored in two different files. One file contains DNA profiles either from the missing person or profiles assembled through oral swab samples contributed by family members. In this case, Hill”s mother and brothers provided the DNA samples to help construct the profile, said Hill”s daughter, April Robinson.
The second file used in the missing person”s program is composed of DNA profiles developed from samples from unidentified people.
If Hill”s remains are ever found, the DNA program could help positively identify her, and return her to her family.
