LAKE COUNTY>>> The woman found in Rodman Slough on Monday, May 27, 2024, has been positively identified as 62-year-old Ellen Adams of Napa. Detectives with the Major Crimes Unit are still actively investigating the circumstances surrounding Adams’s death according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
On Friday, May 24, 2024, around 6 p.m., Adams was seen at the Robinson Rancheria Casino. Surveillance footage later captured her leaving the casino in her white Kia Rio sedan with a male subject on Saturday, May 25 around 1 a.m. Detectives have already identified and interviewed that individual. At this time, detectives do not believe that individual to be connected to Adams’s death.
After leaving the casino, Adams and the male subject drove to the Rodman Slough, which was confirmed by speaking with additional witnesses who spoke with her. On May 27, 2024, Adams was located dead in the Rodman Slough, and on Sunday, June 2, 2024, Adams’s car was discovered abandoned near Pyle Road in Nice.
The Major Crimes Unit continues to actively investigate this case and is working closely with Adams’s family. Detectives have reviewed surveillance footage from nearby businesses, utilized license plate readers, collaborated with Crime Scene Investigators, and worked with allied law enforcement agencies. Detectives have also interviewed several witnesses who may have seen Adams between May 24 and May 27, 2024.
Detectives were able to track Adams’s movements through the afternoon of Saturday, May 25, 2025. However, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who had contact with Adams or who saw her during the time period of May 24 to May 27, 2024 to come forward.
Adams’s family is offering a reward to anyone who provides information that helps solve her case.
Those with information can call the Major Crimes Unit tip line at (707) 262-4088 or Sergeant Jeff Mora at (707) 262-4224.
