Galt police under fire for handling of missing family case Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel staff writer

At a press conference Friday, members of a missing Galt family criticized the Galt Police Department for not taking a more active role in searching for a Galt woman and her two missing daughters.

"The police -- they didn't take it seriously," said Denise Gaskins of Sacramento, whose sister, Annie Marie Hernandez, 34, has been missing since Nov. 2. "They don't call us. They don't let us know what's going on."

Two of Hernandez's children, Korra Meyers, 5, and Jesika Hernandez, 2, are also missing.

Galt police were criticized for treating the Hernandez family disappearance as a vacation instead of starting an all-out search.

Leaders of the Clements-based Cyndi Search Foundation also attended the conference and criticized the effort.

"Why isn't Galt PD investigating this day in and day out?" asked Kim Wrage, who heads the organization devoted to searching for missing people.

Wrage and family members asked the police department to make the case a top priority, investigate virtually nonstop. They also asked the FBI to take over the case and for the Galt community to become involved in the search.

Galt police Lt. Jim Uptegrove, who is in charge of the investigation, said after the press conference Friday he doesn't know what else to do.

"I don't know where to look -- physically look," Uptegrove said.

Hernandez and her two daughters were last seen between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. Nov. 2 in a McDonald's parking lot off Interstate 5 at the Pocket/Meadowview Road exit in South Sacramento.

The restaurant was a frequent meeting place for Hernandez, whose mother lives in Dixon and sister Denise lives in Sacramento.

Hernandez's mother, Jeanne Peterson, said when they parted company, she thought Hernandez was going home to Galt with her daughters.

They haven't been seen since.

"I know what it's like to lose someone," said Wrage, whose sister, Cyndi Vanderheiden, has been missing since November 1998 and is presumed to have been murdered. "I know what it's like not to have a sister around."

Family members and friends say because of the closeness Hernandez has with her mother, sister and friends, a voluntarily disappearance is virtually impossible.

"It's a family joke -- she has a phone glued to her ear," Peterson said.

This week, the family enlisted the help of the Cyndi Search Foundation.

And they have received $10,000 in pledges for a reward fund, drew up fliers and created "ribbons of hope" that Hernandez and her daughters will be found. A Web page is also being created.

Uptegrove said he welcomes the Cyndi Search Foundation's involvement in the case and any leads they can produce.

Uptegrove said he has also discussed the Hernandez disappearance several times with the FBI.

"There has been more than a casual conversation (with Galt police) on this case," said FBI spokesman Nick Rossi. "Our involvement goes beyond mere consultation."

Peterson and Gaskins related details of the disappearance of Hernandez and her daughters during the press conference and pleaded for the public to provide any information they have.

"Somebody knows," Peterson said while sobbing uncontrollably. "Somebody has seen her."

Uptegrove, who didn't attend the press conference, said he has interviewed Annie's husband, Armando, and relatives and friends of the Hernandez family, but has come up empty.

"I understand they're frustrated," Uptegrove said. "I can understand. They don't know where their family members are."

Wrage said it's "really sad the community isn't coming together on this."

Pam Ellis, who works with Wrage at the Cyndi Seach Foundation, said she wanted to know why Galt police are heading the investigation instead of Sacramento police, since Sacramento is where the Hernandez family was last seen.

Uptegrove said in an earlier interview that Galt took the case because there is no evidence of foul play or abduction.

If any evidence, such as their bodies or their property, was found in the Sacramento city limits, then the case would have been assigned to the Sacramento Police Department, Uptegrove said.

Donations are being accepted to two accounts on the Hernandez family's behalf at Stockman's Bank, 701 C St., Galt. The account number for the reward fund for information leading to the finding of Hernandez and her daughters is 203008289.

For information on the case, call the Cyndi Search Foundation at 1-888-44-CYNDI.