0:09

Pearl Pinson left her school one

0:11

morning and in full view of witnesses

0:13

was kidnapped as she walked. A shootout

0:15

with the prime suspect changed the

0:17

course of this investigation, but the answer

0:19

to where is Pearl is something

0:21

the right tip can bring in. I'm

0:24

Charlie and welcome to Crimelines. Hello

0:34

and welcome to Crimelines. This is the

0:36

second case of the month and

0:38

that means we are highlighting a cold

0:40

case that just really needs more

0:42

eyes on it. And this month

0:44

we are talking about the disappearance of

0:46

15 -year -old Pearl Pinson and I want

0:48

to thank her sister Rose for going

0:51

over my script and helping

0:53

with some insights and some

0:55

corrections. was

0:57

born in December of 2000, and

0:59

she grew up in Concord and

1:01

Vallejo, California with her older sister

1:03

and a younger brother. Pearl

1:06

was close to both of her

1:08

siblings, and I always say that if

1:10

you really want to know about a

1:12

victim's life, you need to ask their

1:14

siblings. They're the ones who are going

1:16

to give you the good, the bad, and the in

1:18

-between. In an interview

1:20

with Thomas Gase with the Times

1:22

-Herald, her sister Rose said that

1:25

Pearl had a big heart, And

1:27

she loved people and animals, but

1:29

she also had her not -so -kind

1:31

moments. In other words, she was

1:33

a pretty typical 15 -year -old little sister.

1:36

Truly, Pearl was a typical

1:39

teenager in so many ways. She had

1:41

a good group of friends, she

1:43

sometimes had boyfriends, and she also had

1:45

people she didn't get along with. She

1:48

was working out her own sense of style,

1:50

and when you look up pictures of

1:52

her, you will definitely see this. Her

1:54

hair is naturally a dark blonde

1:56

or a really light brown,

1:58

but the pictures show everything from

2:00

blonde to red to dark

2:02

brown. And in May of

2:05

2016, she dyed it

2:07

partially green. Pearl loved

2:09

to hang out at the park,

2:11

skateboard, and just generally be outside with

2:13

her friends. And if she had problems

2:15

with her friends, she would often confide

2:17

in her sister Rose. And

2:20

that's what she did on Tuesday,

2:22

May 24th, 2016. Pearl

2:24

told Rose that she didn't even want

2:26

to go to school the next day because

2:28

she had some type of argument with some other

2:30

girls. It really sounds like it was

2:32

Pearl on one side of things and then

2:34

this group on the other side. But

2:37

between the time Pearl talked to her sister and

2:39

she went to bed, whatever the

2:41

spat was about seemed to

2:43

be resolved, which, again, very

2:45

typical for a 15 -year -old. So

2:48

on Wednesday, May 25th, Pearl got up

2:50

to go to school as usual. She

2:53

was in a bit of a rush,

2:55

having slept in a bit, so she

2:57

didn't leave until around 6 .45 and headed

2:59

towards her bus stop. As

3:02

she walked down the street, a

3:04

man on the side of the

3:06

road grabbed her. At gunpoint, he

3:08

dragged her to a nearby pedestrian

3:10

bridge that went over the highway. Pearl

3:13

was not going quietly. Witnesses

3:15

heard yelling and looked over to

3:17

see what was going on. They

3:20

saw a teen girl with

3:22

green hair screaming, help me, as

3:25

this man was pulling her

3:27

along. The initial assumption

3:29

based on the 911 calls

3:31

that were made was that this

3:33

man was trying to rape her. At

3:36

least one person did approach them and

3:38

try to intervene. And they saw

3:41

that Pearl's face was bloody, but

3:43

the man showed the gun and

3:45

the witness backed off. He

3:47

then dragged Pearl to the other side of

3:49

the bridge. At least

3:51

one witness at the scene

3:53

reported hearing a gunshot

3:56

and said that the screaming

3:58

stopped. No one saw

4:00

where they went from there, or at least

4:02

not the people speaking to the police that morning.

4:05

The 911 calls that came

4:07

in were a mix

4:09

of what witnesses saw and

4:11

what they assumed. They

4:13

could identify the abductor as a young

4:15

man who was in his late

4:18

teens or early 20s and probably

4:20

Hispanic, but that was about

4:22

as good of a description as they had.

4:24

By the time the police got to

4:27

the scene, the man and Pearl were

4:29

gone, and no one seemed to know

4:31

exactly how they left the scene. The

4:33

witnesses also gave a description

4:35

of the victim, but the

4:37

police were able to get

4:39

her name pretty quickly because

4:42

Pearl had dropped her cell

4:44

phone. Using that phone, the

4:46

police were able to get in touch with

4:48

her family. But it sounds

4:50

like by the time they reached out

4:52

to Pearl's father, he already

4:54

knew something had happened. He

4:57

told People magazine that he was

4:59

home when someone came running down

5:01

the street saying that a girl

5:03

with green hair, had been shot. He

5:06

headed towards the commotion, terrified

5:08

that they were talking about

5:10

Pearl. In addition to

5:12

the cell phone being found on the

5:14

bridge, there was also blood in the

5:16

area. It was not a

5:18

tiny amount, but it wasn't a

5:21

lot either, so it's hard to

5:23

say what type of injury could

5:25

have produced that amount of blood. A

5:28

witness said that it did look like Pearl

5:30

had a bloodied lip, but her sister

5:32

Rose told me that it definitely wasn't from

5:34

that. Their thoughts are

5:36

that he possibly pistol

5:38

whipped Pearl or he shot

5:40

her. A witness did report hearing

5:42

a gunshot, but we don't know

5:44

if it's possible the man fired

5:46

off a shot to scare Pearl

5:49

into shutting up, to scare off

5:51

any other witnesses who were going

5:53

to intervene. Or maybe it

5:55

happened while Pearl was fighting

5:57

back, because that's one thing that

5:59

the main in this case said.

6:01

Pearl was fighting back and screaming

6:03

for her life. She was

6:05

just 15 years old, and she had

6:08

to have been terrified, but she

6:10

was going to fight. And that's

6:12

not really a surprise to those who

6:14

knew her. One word that I

6:16

saw used again and again and

6:18

again to describe her. And I mean

6:20

from her sister, her high school

6:22

principal, and all of her friends. Pearl

6:24

was feisty. So

6:27

at this point, the police have

6:29

the identity of their kidnapping victim, along

6:32

with a description of what she was

6:34

wearing, gray sweater, black leggings, and

6:36

a black and turquoise backpack. They

6:39

did not know if she had been shot or

6:41

not, but they did know she was injured. And

6:43

they didn't know very much about the

6:45

abductor other than a vague description. but

6:48

they ended up getting a huge break later in

6:50

the day. The police had a

6:52

reluctant witness in this case.

6:54

This man saw what happened, but he

6:56

left the scene before the police arrived.

6:59

When they finally got in touch with

7:01

him and talked to him, he admitted

7:03

that he actually recognized the man

7:05

on the bridge. To

7:08

him, it looked like a classmate

7:10

of his from a couple of

7:12

years before, a 19 -year -old named

7:14

Fernando Castro. The police immediately

7:16

went to his home, which was

7:18

about a mile from Pearl's house, and

7:20

they searched it. He wasn't

7:22

there, and neither was Pearl,

7:24

and unfortunately, they found his

7:26

cell phone left behind.

7:29

Without his phone or Pearl's

7:31

phone with the two wherever

7:33

they were, it was going to

7:35

be a lot harder to track his

7:37

movements. But they had his name at least,

7:39

and they were trying to get a description of the car

7:41

he was in. for an

7:44

Amber Alert. Unfortunately,

7:46

it took until the next day

7:48

to get it. They knew

7:50

he was in a gold 1997

7:52

Saturn, and they had the

7:54

license plate number. This

7:56

number was helpful because California

7:58

does use automated license plate

8:01

readers, and they got hits

8:03

from the areas of the

8:05

Sir Francis Drake Bridge and

8:07

the Golden Gate Bridge. Both

8:09

of these bridges are on

8:11

the way from Vallejo to San

8:13

Francisco. And like I said,

8:15

the car description information was a

8:17

piece they needed to issue

8:20

the Amber Alert, which they did

8:22

around 2 .30 in the afternoon.

8:24

And thanks to this Amber

8:26

Alert, a tip came in from

8:28

someone who spotted the vehicle

8:31

around 3 .10 in the afternoon

8:33

on Thursday, May 26th. So the

8:35

day after Pearl had been

8:37

kidnapped. They said the car was

8:39

near Los Alamos, California, and

8:41

it was traveling south. As

8:50

a parent of six children, I can

8:52

tell you firsthand that it's never too early

8:54

to teach your kids the value of

8:56

money. The real struggle is how to approach

8:58

it. And that's why I'm happy to

9:00

have this episode sponsored by Acorns Early. April

9:02

is Financial Literacy Month, a perfect time

9:05

to start teaching your kids the value of

9:07

money. And Acorns Early makes it easy

9:09

with their smart money app and debit card

9:11

for kids. Acorns Early's chores tracker teaches

9:13

kids that hard work pays off. Just set

9:15

up the tasks in the app, set

9:17

the payment amount, and tick off the chore

9:19

when it's Savings goals can help

9:21

kids turn saving into a habit, and

9:23

they even get to choose their own

9:25

target dates, and there is an optional

9:27

autosave feature to make it even easier.

9:29

Kids get a new sense of independence

9:32

when they get to spend what they

9:34

earn with their very own debit card,

9:36

plus kids can build up their money

9:38

knowledge and their confidence with a bite

9:40

-sized financial lesson. These are fun, interactive

9:42

courses that help the kids learn about

9:44

all things money. And Acorns Early makes

9:46

it easy for you, the parent, to

9:48

keep track of where and when the

9:50

kids are spending. So not only will

9:52

Acorns Early help teach your kids about

9:54

money, as you watch their purchases and

9:56

their savings, you can then have conversations

9:58

in the home on a regular basis.

10:00

It's not just a little lesson plan.

10:02

Ready to help your kids grow money

10:05

skills that will last a lifetime? Just

10:07

head to acornsearly.com slash crimelines or download

10:09

the Acorns Early app to get started.

10:11

Sign up now and your first month

10:13

is on us. Buy

10:18

monthly subscription fee starting from $5 a month unless canceled. This

10:27

area is five to six

10:29

hours south of where the kidnapping

10:32

occurred. So he was nowhere

10:34

near the Bay Area any longer.

10:36

And this reminds us how

10:38

important it is that Amber Alerts

10:40

are issued statewide and, in

10:43

some cases, region -wide. Thanks

10:45

to this Amber Alert tip,

10:47

units were immediately dispatched to the

10:49

area and they spotted the

10:51

Saturn. They attempted to pull it

10:53

over, but the driver, Fernando

10:55

Castro, decided instead he was going

10:57

to take off. A chase

10:59

ensued with Highway Patrol and the

11:01

Santa Barbara County Sheriff deputies

11:03

on his tail. They had a

11:05

helicopter in the air trying

11:07

to give them information, so there

11:10

was pretty much no way

11:12

Fernando could shake them. The

11:14

chase was dramatic, with

11:16

Fernando even crossing the freeway

11:18

and traveling the wrong

11:20

way into oncoming traffic. But

11:22

thankfully, he didn't hit

11:24

anyone. Eventually, Fernando exited

11:26

the highway, and now he

11:28

was out on city streets,

11:30

which only increased the likelihood

11:32

a bystander would be in

11:34

harm's way. At 3 .34

11:37

p .m., Fernando crashed into

11:39

a barricade in a

11:41

residential area in Solvang. which

11:43

is 30 miles northwest

11:45

of Santa Barbara. Fernando

11:47

had no choice but to abandon

11:49

his vehicle, but he was not

11:51

about to surrender. He fired at

11:53

officers as he ran to take

11:55

cover in a nearby home. There

11:58

was a woman in the house

12:00

at the time, but thankfully she

12:02

was able to get out and

12:04

get to safety while Fernando barricaded

12:06

himself inside. The authorities ended

12:08

up issuing a reverse 911 call

12:10

to the neighbors to tell them to

12:12

shelter in place. They had Fernando

12:14

cornered, and there was no telling what

12:16

he would do at this point. After

12:19

a short standoff around 4

12:21

p .m., Fernando decided to

12:23

make a run for it.

12:25

He grabbed the keys to

12:27

the resident's Toyota Tundra and

12:29

ran out to the truck.

12:31

As he started to drive

12:33

away, gunfire was exchanged, and

12:35

in the process, Fernando was

12:37

shot multiple times and killed

12:40

at the scene. Because

12:42

this was an officer -involved shooting,

12:44

there was an investigation that eventually

12:46

cleared the police of any wrongdoing.

12:48

And while some of the elements

12:50

of this almost sound like suicide

12:52

by cop, I think Fernando really

12:54

thought he was going to shoot

12:57

his way out of this. The

12:59

shooting was deemed justified as

13:01

they found that he was

13:03

a danger not just to

13:05

the police, but to the

13:07

residents in that area. That

13:09

said, the police actions that

13:11

day, whether deemed justified or

13:13

not, really, really complicated locating

13:15

Pearl Pinson. Because not

13:17

only was the kidnapper dead,

13:20

the Saturn in the house where

13:22

he barricaded himself were both searched,

13:24

and Pearl wasn't with him. For

13:27

reference, Vallejo, where Pearl was kidnapped,

13:29

to Los Alamos, where Fernando was spotted.

13:31

is a six -hour drive if you

13:33

go the way that takes you

13:35

over the bridges where his car's plates

13:37

were recorded. That is about

13:39

330 miles. And Pearl had been

13:41

missing for 32 hours at that

13:43

point, meaning they had a huge

13:45

area to search and a big

13:47

timeline to fill if they were

13:49

going to narrow it down. And

13:52

this is where the license plate

13:54

readers come in again. They learned

13:56

that at about 9 .30 on

13:58

Wednesday morning, just two and a

14:00

half hours after Pearl was kidnapped, Fernando

14:03

was driving across a bridge in

14:05

Marin County, which is not south

14:08

towards Los Alamos, but rather it

14:10

was west of Vallejo heading towards

14:12

the coast of California. They

14:14

got another clue when they

14:16

searched Fernando's car. There was

14:18

a note in it with

14:20

directions to Jenner, California, which

14:22

is northwest along the coast.

14:24

In following up on that,

14:26

they then found video footage

14:28

of Fernando at a gas

14:30

station in Bodega Bay, which

14:33

is 20 miles south of

14:35

Jenner, and he was there

14:37

the day after the kidnapping

14:39

at around 7 .35 in

14:41

the morning. This was

14:43

even more ground to cover. From

14:45

Vallejo to where he was

14:47

spotted in Marin County to Bodega

14:49

Bay up to Jenner and

14:51

then back down to Solvang, where

14:53

he was eventually killed. Fernando

14:55

had covered 450 miles, and it

14:57

would have taken him over

14:59

eight hours in drive time. At

15:01

no time in any of the

15:03

videos of Fernando or signs of

15:05

him around California was Pearl ever

15:07

seen. Those who saw her dragged

15:09

off on that pedestrian bridge were

15:11

the last people to see her.

15:13

But just because she wasn't seen

15:15

on the video or in the

15:17

car doesn't mean she wasn't there.

15:20

Something else that was found in

15:22

the search of his car... Drops

15:24

of blood in the trunk that

15:26

were a match to Pearl. Because

15:28

it appeared Fernando had spent

15:30

his time immediately after the kidnapping

15:32

near Jenner, a search was

15:34

focused in that area near and

15:36

in Sonoma Coast State Park,

15:38

about 65 miles from where Pearl

15:40

was last seen. They spent

15:42

about two days searching near Willow

15:45

Creek as well as Russian

15:47

River. And when the searches were

15:49

called off, the spokesperson for

15:51

the Solano County Sheriff said they

15:53

found no signs of Pearl

15:55

there. They also searched the shores

15:57

of the San Francisco Bay,

15:59

as that was another area we

16:01

know he was in. Something

16:03

they also have never, ever

16:06

found in all of their searches

16:08

is a motive. This

16:10

does look like it was

16:12

premeditated. Though this information wasn't released

16:14

until later, when the

16:16

police did a search of

16:18

Fernando's bedroom, they found a suicide

16:20

note, zip ties, and a

16:22

homemade silencer made from the oil

16:25

filter from a car. But

16:27

why was he kidnapping someone? According

16:29

to the investigators, Fernando only

16:31

had a minor criminal record, but

16:33

he did live in the

16:35

same neighborhood as Pearl, about a

16:38

mile away. And that

16:40

might be why early on it

16:42

was reported that Pearl and Fernando

16:44

were acquaintances. But the investigation into

16:46

their link did not support this.

16:48

For one thing, Pearl had only

16:50

lived in the neighborhood for about

16:53

a year. Before that, she and

16:55

her siblings were living with their

16:57

aunt and uncle. So add in

16:59

a four -year age difference between Pearl

17:01

and Fernando, and it didn't seem

17:03

very likely that their paths had

17:06

many opportunities to cross. But

17:08

to be sure, the investigators checked

17:10

their cell phone records, social media

17:12

accounts, and emails, and found zero

17:14

communication between the two. So

17:16

then they started looking for any

17:19

indirect signs they knew each other,

17:21

like mutual friends or mutual connections

17:23

on social media. But they didn't

17:25

find so much as a photo

17:27

of the two of them at

17:29

the same party at the same

17:32

time that would connect them. So

17:34

was this a crime of

17:36

opportunity? Had he been planning

17:38

to kidnap someone and Pearl

17:40

was the one who walked

17:42

down the street that day?

17:44

Or had he noticed Pearl

17:47

previously and targeted her? This

17:49

is something the family still

17:51

doesn't know. There are

17:53

some rumors that Fernando had some

17:55

gang involvement, which has absolutely not

17:57

been confirmed. But the possibility has

17:59

led to the theory that this

18:01

was more of an organized crime

18:03

and that Fernando had kidnapped

18:05

Pearl and passed her off to

18:08

someone that morning when he traveled

18:10

out to the coast. The

18:12

answer to what was the motive

18:14

here still seems out of reach,

18:16

and it might always be. It

18:18

may have only existed within the

18:21

mind of a man who is

18:23

now dead. While the

18:25

family does understand the situation

18:27

the officers and deputies were in

18:29

when Fernando started a car

18:31

chase, a standoff, and a shootout,

18:33

they do wish that the

18:35

police had considered the bigger picture

18:37

and approached the situation with

18:40

more strategy. This was the

18:42

person who knew where Pearl

18:44

was, and if they had put

18:46

that in the forefront of

18:48

their minds, they may have handled

18:50

this differently and used different

18:52

tools. to take him into custody

18:54

safely. Just because a

18:56

shooting is justified or deemed

18:58

justified doesn't mean there wasn't

19:00

another possible path that could

19:02

have led to a different

19:04

outcome. And man, do we

19:06

wish that they had found

19:08

that other path because it

19:10

wasn't just a motive that

19:12

Fernando died with. It was

19:15

the answer to where is

19:17

Pearl? In spite of the

19:19

extensive land, air, and sea searches, nothing

19:21

has been found, or at least

19:23

nothing that has been made public, but

19:25

the family has not given up

19:27

hope, even as media attention on this

19:29

case has died down. One

19:32

of the saddest things in

19:34

this field of true crime,

19:36

particularly when I'm reading through

19:38

the archival media coverage on

19:40

these cases, is watching this

19:42

happen. where a case starts

19:44

fading from the media while

19:47

more cases start taking over

19:49

the headlines. And I know

19:51

that those cases will also

19:53

fade to be replaced by

19:55

another and another. They just

19:57

keep coming. Covering

19:59

true crime is a strange job because

20:01

it's one of the only jobs where

20:03

you really hope to get put out

20:06

of business. I am not

20:08

the first podcast to cover Pearl's

20:10

case. The Vanish podcast did an

20:12

excellent episode. a year after Pearl

20:14

went missing in 2017, and I

20:16

recommend that everyone go listen to

20:18

it. You get to hear interviews

20:20

from the family firsthand, and Marissa

20:22

always does such a great job

20:25

working on these cases, getting them

20:27

out there to a new audience

20:29

to hopefully bring in some answers. Unfortunately,

20:32

there haven't been a ton of

20:34

updates since the Vanished episode aired.

20:36

There is one in November of

20:38

2017. When some new

20:41

information came in that got a

20:43

little bit more media attention again,

20:45

it was August of that year,

20:47

so about 14 or 15 months

20:49

after Pearl went missing, someone logged

20:51

into her Facebook account. They disabled

20:53

access to the main account, and

20:56

then they made a fake account. While

20:58

hackers do this sort of

21:00

thing, usually they can only get

21:02

into your primary Facebook account

21:04

by making you click on a

21:06

phishing email or message. More

21:09

often when people talk about

21:11

getting quote unquote hacked on

21:13

Facebook, what actually happens is

21:15

that someone is cloning your account.

21:17

They copy your profile picture

21:19

and then they send a

21:22

ton of friend requests to

21:24

the people on your list. They

21:26

didn't actually get into your

21:28

account. Getting into your account

21:30

without using a phishing email

21:32

first isn't as common. So the

21:34

question was, who got into

21:36

Pearl's Facebook account? Was it

21:38

somebody? who somehow guessed the password.

21:41

Was it Pearl? Was it

21:43

someone who got the password

21:45

from Pearl at some point?

21:47

They had to look into that

21:49

angle, the new account, any

21:51

information those gave them, as

21:53

well as profiles that Fernando

21:55

Castro had, just to see if

21:57

there was activity on those.

21:59

If they found anything useful,

22:02

it has not been made

22:04

public. So the question of

22:06

where are we now? Unfortunately,

22:08

pretty much in the same space

22:10

we were a year after

22:12

Pearl had been kidnapped. And the

22:14

family bore the weight of

22:16

this, calling month after month, year

22:18

after year to get updates

22:21

only to hear they had none.

22:23

They did this while also

22:25

working over the years to accept

22:27

the possibility that Pearl is

22:29

dead while also holding on to

22:31

hope. There is no proof

22:33

of anything except that Fernando Castro

22:35

kidnapped Pearl Pinson, and then

22:37

took his answers with him when

22:40

he died. To both help

22:42

keep Pearl's name out there and

22:44

to have a place to

22:46

honor her memory, the family has

22:48

been working to get the

22:50

pedestrian bridge named after her. Though

22:53

this has a ton of public

22:55

support, the bureaucracy of it all

22:57

is frustrating, and it is still

22:59

up in the air. So

23:01

here's how you can help. There

23:03

is a Facebook group that you

23:05

can join to get more information,

23:07

see memories of Pearl, stay up

23:10

to date on the case, support

23:12

the family in getting the bridge

23:14

named after her, and get the

23:16

information to attend the annual vigil.

23:19

The link to that will be in the show

23:21

notes. Also, if you happen

23:23

to be a listener in the

23:25

areas of Bodega Bay and Jenner,

23:27

California, Particularly if you are an

23:29

outdoorsy type, a camper, a hunter,

23:31

a fisher, a backpacker, whatever, keep

23:33

your eyes out. At the time

23:35

Pearl went missing, she was wearing

23:37

a gray sweater, black leggings, and

23:39

a black and turquoise backpack. If

23:41

you see items like those discarded

23:43

somewhere, particularly if they look like

23:46

they've been there for a while,

23:48

you need to call the police.

23:50

It really can take something as

23:52

little as a faded backpack in

23:54

the woods to solve a case

23:56

like this. If you are out

23:58

and about and you see someone who

24:00

looks like Pearl Pinson, snap

24:02

a picture with your phone and

24:04

call in a tip. That photo

24:06

can help more quickly rule in

24:08

or rule out tips. I will

24:10

post her missing persons flyer plus

24:12

the most recent age progression on

24:14

my Facebook page and my website.

24:16

And lastly, I feel like I

24:18

always make my last call to

24:20

the people who knew the perpetrator,

24:22

those who knew Fernando Castro. You

24:25

don't even know what you might

24:27

know. We know from the body

24:29

of research on criminals that they

24:31

like to move in places they

24:33

are comfortable. It's not a fluke

24:36

that he grabbed Pearl about a

24:38

mile from his own house. He

24:40

probably brought her somewhere he

24:42

is familiar with. Did you go

24:44

camping with him somewhere? Did

24:47

he ever tell you his favorite

24:49

fishing spot? Did he mention

24:51

going out to his uncle's brother's

24:53

best friend's cabin one summer? That

24:56

information narrows down areas to search.

24:58

You will be doing more to move

25:00

this case forward than you can

25:02

even imagine by calling in that tip.

25:04

And if you are someone who

25:06

does have a tip about the whereabouts

25:08

of Pearl Pinson or what happened

25:10

to her, You can call the Solano

25:13

County Sheriff's Office or the National

25:15

Center for Missing and Exploited Children. As

25:17

always, I will leave those numbers

25:19

in the show notes.