“Mariposa County Sheriff’s investigators have the best of the best at California Department of Justice forensic labs.   The criminalists can often provide detailed information that moves investigations forward.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

MARIPOSA COUNTY – On October 6, 2023, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant in connection with the Wendy Pullins homicide case. Information the Sheriff’s Office received led to the discovery of the 2005 Subaru Outback investigators had been looking for. The vehicle is now at the California Department of Justice lab being processed for any forensic evidence related to the homicide.

BACKGROUND: On September 26, 2023, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office invited public assistance in solving what was first investigated as a missing persons case from June of 2022.

Wendy Pullins was last seen in Mariposa County on June 15, 2022. She was reported missing to the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office on June 18, 2022.

On September 8, 2022, detectives with the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office located the Jeep Cherokee that was last known to be driven by Pullins. The vehicle was found down a steep embankment in a remote area of Mariposa County. The vehicle was sent to a California Department of Justice (DOJ) Forensic Laboratory to be processed for anything of evidentiary value. Forensic analysis done of blood located inside the vehicle was a positive match to Pullins’ DNA. Because of the amount of time that has passed since Pullins was reported missing, the condition of the vehicle and the blood located inside the vehicle, the investigation is being treated as a homicide.   In addition, multiple items of evidence were collected from the vehicle and are being processed by the DOJ lab in an effort to identify suspects in this investigation.