Castro was killed Thursday afternoon in a gunbattle with Southern California sheriff’s deputies 300 miles to the south in Los Alamos, a city along Highway 101 in Santa Barbara County.
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The search continued in Sonoma County for the missing teenage girl last seen being dragged by a man over a Vallejo freeway, investigators said.
Detectives from the Solano County Sheriff’s Office said that new leads had led them to believe Pinson might be in the area, but refused to say what information had been uncovered.
The Solano County Sheriff’s Office has indicated it believes Castro was the suspect in Pinson’s disappearance.
“Our number one priority is to bring her home to her family, and we do believe that is possible”, Castillo said Friday evening at the search site.
She is encouraging those who may have seen the high school freshman after she was kidnapped Wednesday to call 911 or their local police department.
‘There are indications she could be possibly injured, and that is still a concern. The witness said Pinson was bleeding from the face and her kidnapper was carrying a handgun. The search on land and along a river was suspended at sundown and will resume Saturday morning.
Authorities could not confirm whether Pinson was shot, nor did they know the extent of her injuries. Blood and Pinson’s cellphone were found on the ground.
The man identified as the person dragging Pinson was Fernando Castro, 19, of Vallejo.
About 65 members of rescue teams from sheriff’s offices in Solano, Sonoma, Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin counties searched approximately 25 square miles of the Willow Creek area. This undated photo provided by the California Highway Patrol shows Fernando Castro. The gold Saturn sedan was spotted on a freeway near San Francisco Bay, and authorities also were searching the water’s edge.
“I know she’s out there, and I know she’s alive, and I just pray that you come home”, said Rose Pinson, the missing girl’s sister, in a tearful plea.
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At the end of the pursuit, the sheriff’s office said the suspect got into a shootout with deputies and fled to a nearby mobile home where he stole a truck.
