Category Archives: Antolin Garcia-Torres

Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 163

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Ain’t no one left in the house except the search junkies. They have suffered multiple wasp attacks, extreme heat, ruptured muscles, broken bones, a heart attack, and appendicitis, yet they still come back for more. It has been nearly six months since Sierra LaMar disappeared. Seasons have come and gone. A housing complex has been constructed and settled. A suspect has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder. But still, we have not found Sierra LaMar.

 

As search leaders struggle to define viable new search locations, volunteers continue to be deployed into the field to seek any sign of the missing Morgan Hill cheerleader. The amateurs that first walked through the doors in May and April have evolved into seasoned search and rescue personnel. The no longer consider every discarded cigarette butt as a game changer; instead they search for more tangible forms of potential evidence. March’s freshly dug grave is September’s hardened mound of dirt. April’s discarded body may be today’s bone fragments.

 

The good news is that despite nearly 1,000 search assignments, we have located no sign of Sierra LaMar. Either a sociopathic cretin named Garcia-Torres has done an amazing job of covering up his crimes, or Sierra is still alive. There is nothing in his background to suggest that he has the capacity to eliminate the traces of his criminal activity. Instead, there is a drooling trail of petty crime, attacks against women, and links to Sierra, who he claims that he never met. So that leaves the possibility that she is still alive, either as a victim of human trafficking, or under the control of his partners in crime.

 

Of course, this is simply speculation, and until we have real answers I suspect that the search for Sierra will continue. We will never give up hope and we will continue to look for a girl who is either watching us from heaven, or waiting to be rescued. As long as her family holds out hope and continues to show up at the search center to encourage, hug, and thank the volunteers; and as long as the community continues to believe that anything is possible, the amazing search junkies will continue to weather the elements as they seek the child who we all know is somewhere out there.

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 98

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Genaro Garcia Fernandez & Antolin Garcia Torres

As the seasons change the fresh hope of spring yields to the dog days of summer, yet missing 15-year-old Sierra continues to elude our grasp. Unpicked summer fruit falls from trees, bushes and vines’, spoiling in the unyielding heat of late July, but it is the putrid stench of rotten fruit that commands our attention. A pair of child rapists, a father and his son, resides in the Santa Clara County Jail, protected from other prisoners who jeer, threaten and, given a chance, would possibly slit their throats.

 

The father, Genaro Garcia-Fernandez, crimes spanned a decade, as he lurked within the walls of his home sweet home and serially raped his pre-teen daughter with regularity and certainty. His boy, Antolin Garcia-Torres, preferred a blitzkrieg strike against unsuspecting females. He’d rather prowl for victims in a supermarket parking lot at night or the blustery storm shrouded early morning roads in his hometown of Morgan Hill, CA.

 

He was a good student though. His father’s crimes taught him that it is best to strike in isolation and to leave no witnesses behind. In a rational world, one would hope that the son would atone for generational perversion by coming clean with his God and the authorities. Unfortunately, the psychopath is not rational: his only God is instant self-gratification; and the authorities will only learn the details that advance his needs. Now, it is only a matter of time before the sins of the father establish the foundation for the defense of the son.

Danielle, Marlene, Krystine & Violet

Enough about the dark side: the Sierra search has demonstrated that hope reigns eternal, and that the powers of good can triumph over the power of evil. On Saturday, more than 70-volunteers showed up to search for Sierra. The morning prayer circle gave thanks for the cloudy skies and temperature that hovered in the low sixties. As usual, the search teams left hopeful that this would be the day that the case was resolved. In the meantime, we prepared for the child ID Program, requested by Sierra’s mother Marlene, which was scheduled from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Making Kids Safe

The KlaasKids Print-A-Thon has traveled the country since the mid 90’s. We have fingerprinted and photographed more than 1,000,000 children without charging a family for the service or data basing personal and private information. We provide a suite of child safety tools in hopes of providing families with information they can share to avoid a victimization in the first place. However, if there is an emergency we provide a 9-point plan on what to do in case of an emergency.

 

The weather did not fully cooperate. When the teams returned later in the afternoon, the skies were blue, the sun was beating down and we had fingerprinted and photographed more than 130 children. It is our hope that we have provided young families with a viable path to child safety. Unfortunately, Sierra’s whereabouts remain unknown.

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 59

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Wherever I go and whatever I do things and events are in a constant state of change. Hopefully they are evolving, growing and getting better. Sometimes they are in decline or seemingly dormant, but even majestic mountains and ancient glaciers change with the season and over the ages. However, when I am at the Sierra Search Center progress seems to be stuck in time. The faces of the volunteers are the same, although they may reflect heightened levels of grim determination. The search assignments become redundant although the lush green hills that were searched in April now glimmer golden in the sun.

 

This case is getting inside people’s heads. As improbable as it may seem, they dream about Sierra returning home, even walking through the big double doors of the Search Center. They struggle with their own emotional well-being as a child that most of them have never met is somewhere out there. They feel guilty that her best possible scenario has her distressed, hopeless and afraid. Some volunteers have taken to dark moods; some to drink. However, there are no social services available to these good men and women, so they put their heads down and try to move inexorably forward.

 

The arrest of Garcia-Torres, the punk who victimized her, had a positive vibe despite the Sheriff’s contention that she was dead. It reenergized Sierra’s troops, suggested new search sites, and seemingly brought us that much closer to the truth.  However, that was 10-days ago and nothing further has happened. That’s the nature of professional criminals. They know how to work the system; when to talk and when to keep their mouths shut. In other words, if it isn’t self-serving there is no reason to talk. If Sierra is alive and under his control, then it must be assumed that she has been alone since his arrest which means that she is hungry.  we still don’t know where the vivacious 15-year-old cheerleader is.

 

People who are not already invested in this case are avoiding it like the plague. We got our first taste at a Giants game about a month ago. As volunteers were handing out flyers at the ticket gate, they were being blown off by fans who said, “Why bother she’s dead,” or “I’ve got no time for this.” Even now, as saturated as this case has become in this community, there are still those who profess to know nothing about it. They must live under rocks.

 

By 10:00 a.m., more than 80-volunteers have been dispatched to search for Sierra. Somebody dropped off breakfast burritos, and as always the kitchen ladies have laid out a spread of bagels and other pastries, loaded with carbs, to provide the energy burst that is so needed in these dog days.

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 52

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The Smirk!

Why do psychopaths always think that they are the smartest guys in the room? They are cowardly little men who prey on vulnerable children. They derive pleasure at the expense of others, for nothing more than instant self-gratification. They leave a trail that rivals the Great Wall of China. Yet, when they take the inevitable perp walk, the arrogant smirk on their face defies explanation.

 

The Sierra LaMar Taskforce has spoken to Garcia-Torres about Sierra’s disappearance several times, although not in a custodial setting. He has been under 24/7 surveillance for almost two months as he knew full well. They took possession of his red Jetta on April 7, but he seemed oblivious to the fact that he has been in the task force gun sights since shortly after Sierra disappeared.

 

Sheriff Smith has linked his DNA to Sierra’s possessions yet he told his mother that he had never had contact with her. In fact, he told his mom that he drove near Sierra’s home, but spent the day fishing at Morgan Hill’s Uvas Reservoir. In probably the biggest tell of all Garcia-Torres’ mother said that she believes her son, but she is not his shadow. If your own mother doesn’t buy in to your b.s., how clever can you really be?

 

Chester the Molester lurks in bushes and waits for opportune moments to attack unsuspecting, vulnerably children. Not really the most courageous approach to life that I can think of. He isolates them, rapes them, and murders them. Then, as he tries to conceal his “perfect” crime, he looks into his rearview mirror, smiles knowingly and contemplates his rugged good looks.

 

I believe that most people consider the needs and feelings of others. We try to comfort our loved ones when they are sad, and we tell white lies to spare the feelings of our friends. The response to Sierra’s disappearance is a perfect example of unselfish benevolence. Thousands of people gave of their time, money, services, talents, prayers and goodwill to help the family of a young girl that most had never met. All any of them ever asked in return was for a little girl to walk through the door and say thank you.

 

In the mind of the psychopath, the sacrifice of a little girl’s life for one moment of instant self-indulgence is status quo. It is an act devoid of conscience and steeped in evil. These are the acts of individuals who, once they are identified, should be removed from society, because we can easily survive without them, while they will only exist in misery without us. I don’t really care if they are isolated or stacked like cordwood. My only stipulation would be that the only place that they can see their reflection and practice the smirk is among the turds floating in their murky toilets.

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 51

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Antolin Garcia-Torres

The beloved fairy tale Beauty and the Beast ends happily ever after, but alas, this real life tale of Beauty and the Beast may have tragedy written all over it.


Sierra Lamar has been missing since shortly after leaving home for the school bus at about 7:15 a.m. on March 16, 2012. Sixty-six days later, at approximately 6:00 p.m. on May 21, 2012, Antolin Garcia-Torres was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murdering the vivacious 15-year-old Morgan Hill high school student. The Sierra LaMar task force has had the 21-year-old Safeway Supermarket employee under surveillance since March 28, after DNA linked him to items found in Sierra’s Juicy Couture bag. The Juicy bag was discovered by the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team two days after Sierra disappeared.


His DNA was on file in the nationwide CODIS database because California law allows for DNA collection in cases of felony arrest. Garcia-Torres has a misdemeanor conviction for interfering with a police officer as well as a past arrest for felony assault. The felony assault charge was ultimately dropped, but not before his DNA was extracted. There are many who argue that collecting DNA without a conviction is a privacy violation. Without that linkage, this creep might still be on the loose and young girls in Santa Clara County would still be endangered.


A red VW Jetta with a black hood and sunroof that is owned by Garcia-Torres has been in law enforcement custody since April 7. It was identified as a vehicle of interest through witness accounts and surveillance video. Forensic testing has been conducted on the vehicle, and although some test results remain outstanding, the authorities have evidence that places Sierra in the red Jetta. That means that Sierra and Garcia-Torres can be linked at two separate crime scenes: the location of the Juicy Couture bag and the vehicle owned by and registered to the suspect.   


This sucker has a history, has assaulted women in the past but is not a registered sex offender. Besides the misdemeanor conviction and felony arrest Garcia-Torres has also been linked to at least one of three 2009 unsolved assaults on young women in Morgan Hill. During her press conference Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith alluded to the fact that, “Since January of 2011 in Santa Clara County alone there are 43 missing females that have never returned home.” Was she suggesting that Garcia-Torres might be a serial killer?


The arrest was made for public safety concerns. Although the Sheriff had hoped that he would lead them to Sierra’s remains, he has not done so. It was quickly noted that surveillance isn’t perfect and that anybody who would kidnap and kill a young girl poses an extreme safety threat. The authorities are still seeking information from the public that will help establish the timeline that will lead them to Sierra.


There is no evidence whatsoever that Sierra had ever met or had knowledge of the suspect’s existence. It is believed that Garcia-Torres acted alone and that it was a random crime of opportunity. This makes it one of the most frightening and difficult crimes to solve for they are looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. It is a large world full of billions of people and she is a small girl.


Garcia-Torres is a small time thug who has always lived in Morgan Hill. Although the task force has spoken with him several times, he had not been questioned in a controlled environment until after his arrest last night. 

 

After KTVU broke the story last night I called Sierra’s mother Marlene. I asked her, based on this latest development, if she wanted us to continue looking for her daughter. Her answer was an emphatic, “Absolutely!”


Garcia-Torres has been charged with kidnapping and murder, but he does not have an extensive criminal history, has not been previously charged with murder or rape, there is no weapon, we don’t know how Sierra was killed, and her remains have not been found. Perhaps there has been a rush to judgment. Perhaps Sierra is alive after all. It is now up to us to find the truth.

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