Post by Scumhunter on Dec 21, 2020 1:17:40 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: projectcoldcase.org)
From The Arctic Sounder (thearcticsounder.com): (2016 article)
Four years ago in July, Eliza Simmonds, 28, was found dead on a beach outside of Barrow.
Friends and family had spent a harrowing two months searching every nook and cranny of the town, asking around the villages, even visiting bars and hangouts in downtown Anchorage to no avail.
She was discovered, months later, by people riding four-wheelers miles out of town. Although her body has been found, information about what happened to her years ago has not.
"It's been four years since we started looking for answers," said Stefanie Lozano, who grew up across the street from Simmonds.
Lozano organized the extensive volunteer search for her neighbor years ago.
"I worked previously with the roads department, so I knew practically every road. We conducted a road search with vehicles and then we conducted a road search with four-wheelers and snow machines to get between houses. We had a group going door-to-door one block at a time until we crossed off all of the houses," Lozano said.
This year, she saw a Facebook memory pop up on her feed reminding her of the grim anniversary.
"It brought back to light that we still need to be out there looking," Lozano said. "I'm going to keep pushing until something is done or until something happens with this case."
Earlier this month, she put together a walk through town to raise awareness about her friend's death, which has come to be known also as one of the most prominent cold cases on the North Slope.
Another Barrow resident, who asked to remain anonymous, walked alongside Lozano and remembers those long months in 2012. She's from the same village, Atqasuk, that Eliza and her family were from.
When she heard about Eliza's initial disappearance, she joined in the search with her church.
"I was involved with the door-to-door search in the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory area," she said. "We went as a group to every public facility wherever we could. If it was abandoned, we made sure we checked every corner for her. We also did a ground search, checking around outside."
At one point, someone mentioned they had seen Eliza in a bar in Anchorage, prompting the search to move down there, said Lozano. Her family spent days scouring the downtown streets and coming up empty.
When the fourth of July rolled around, Lozano said the volunteers passed out fliers and hung missing person signs around town. But, they also agreed to try and enjoy the summer games after 42 days of continuous searching from dawn to dusk.
Just days later, they got the call that Eliza had been found on the beach.
"What came to my mind was, how could she have walked over there? Somebody must have killed her," said the woman who also helped search.
No official information has been released to substantiate a murder, but it's crossed the minds of many who were involved years ago.
Alaska Dispatch News reported at the time of her disappearance that Simmonds had come to Barrow from Atqasuk in March. Shortly after arriving, she may have been hit by a car. She ended up in the hospital with bruises and "severely frost-bitten feet," her sister said at the time.
According to friends, she was having trouble walking, which is why people like the Barrow woman questioned her ability to make it alone that far from town.
"I've always wanted to know what happened like every other parent or friend or relative or community member. I've always wondered what happened to her," said the woman.
Lozano said she hoped the walk would remind people that Eliza and her death were not forgotten.
"I wanted [Eliza's] mom to have reassurance that there are still people out there who are concerned about what happened," Lozano said. "She didn't realize there were so many people out there who were trying to find out."
The marchers carried signs that read, "What happened to Eliza?" that were decorated with photos of the woman and her children. They released balloons and said a prayer, hoping answers would follow.
Barrow is a small town. "Everybody knows everybody" is a phrase residents use to describe the hub of the Slope. That's something people like those who walked its streets earlier this month are counting on to help.
"For me, being such a close community, I believe that somebody knows something," said the Barrow woman. "When I heard that they were doing the walk for Eliza, all I thought was, whoever's responsible, this is another summer, the same time of year that she was found, and those people that are responsible for her death, I don't want them to have a comfortable summer. I want them to know that we're going to keep her remembered until those who are responsible are brought to justice."
She said she thinks it must be a tough case to solve and that all of the pieces of the puzzle have to come together just right for an answer to emerge.
"As a mother, if something happened to one of my children or my niece or my nephew, someone in my immediate family, I'd want to know what happened. I can just feel the mother's heart with this case being unsolved," the woman said.
She, and the others who walked, like Lozano, say they'll continue to talk openly about the case and hope it won't stay cold forever.
"She was the mother of children. She was a really happy lady. She was always smiling whenever I saw her. She was outgoing in her own way. She enjoyed herself," said Lozano. "Knowing what happened to her would bring closure."
www.thearcticsounder.com/article/1621barrow_rally_brings_cold_case_into_the
Additional article on case: austinbaird.com/2016/01/cold-case-4-years-later-a-barrow-mother-waits-for-answers-in-daughters-death/
Thoughts? The above article is from 2016 so some details may now be outdated. However, as of this posting date (December 21st, 2020), Eliza's case is still sadly listed as unsolved on Project Cold Case:
database.projectcoldcase.org/?name=simmonds&gender=&race=&age=&city=&state=Alaska&zip=&county=&weapon=&offense=&status=&year=2012&lea=&reported_min=&reported_max=&more=true
Also I put Death of Eliza Simmonds instead Unknown Eliza Simmonds Killer in the thread title because articles seem to indicate police considered this a "suspicious death" case and at least in 2016 didn't officially declare her case a homicide yet. It would seem to me considering the circumstances I would highly agree with Eliza's loved ones that foul play is a possibility.
Admin Note #1: According to Project: Cold Case, Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact the North Slope Borough Police Department at (907) 852-0311.
Admin Note #2: If you have any (news-related) updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form