Trinity Backus: California girl, 16, found dead in woods a week after she went missing
NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: A 16-year-old Nevada County resident who had been missing since the night of November 9 was discovered dead on November 11. According to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, Trinity Backus' corpse was discovered just after 2 pm in a densely forested river drainage region approximately half a mile north of her residence on Kentucky Ravine Road, where she was last seen.
The office said there was "nothing suspicious and her cause of death is unknown." "We have been in communication with the family and extend our deepest condolences to them as they work through this loss," the sheriff's office said. Backus was last seen leaving her aunt's house wearing a maroon robe and pajamas around 10:30 pm on November 9, according to the sheriff's office.
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According to her relatives, the teenager attended North Point High School, and being missing wasn't typical of her. Trinity informed her aunt she was heading to her boyfriend's house in Green Valley, which is roughly 10 miles away, according to her mother, Andrea Stanio. Stanio said that she last saw her daughter on November 9 at around 3 pm as reported by KCRA.
"The last time I saw my daughter was picking up my youngest daughter from school and dropping her (Trinity) off," Stanio said. "I was taking my youngest daughter up to to the snow. I said, 'I love you Trin,' Those were the last words I said to my daughter."
Stanio claimed that she received a phone call at 10:47 pm stating that Trinity had left home running. "That doesn’t seem like her," she said. "I got in my car and drove to her aunt’s house. It’s 20 minutes away. I didn’t see Trinity on the side of the road."
Breaking: Sad update to the search for missing teen Trinity Backus. Searchers in Nevada County found her body around 2pm, 1/2 mile from where she was last seen Wed. 10:30pm. The red in the picture shows everywhere lane enforcement searched. @kcranews pic.twitter.com/mKMQa1FCAj
— Michelle Bandur KCRA (@MBandurKCRA) November 12, 2022
The Placer County Sheriff's Office, the Yuba County Sheriff's Department, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, and the California Highway Patrol all helped in searching for the missing teen on November 10, according to the sheriff's office. Crews were assisted by a FIRIS plane, which typically utilizes its infrared capacity to track the spread of wildfires, while they searched for Backus throughout the night. The Butte County Sheriff's search and rescue team, the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office, the Yolo County Sheriff's Office, the California Rescue Dog Association, the Marin County Sheriff's Office, and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office were among the other law enforcement agencies listed by the sheriff's office as ones who contributed to the search effort on November 11.
There were 140 people involved in the search for Trinity. Rescuers deployed ATVs, foot patrols, search dogs, many helicopters, and aircraft. Her cause of death will be determined after an autopsy by the coroner.