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They're all young white women with dark brown hair and bright smiles. They all have a history of drug use, mental problems and running with bad crowds. And they all have one other thing in common - they're all missing.
Sheriff's detectives hunting for them say any one could have ended up murdered or dead of drug overdose, buried in a shallow desert grave. Detectives say all three women lived risky lifestyles and traveled in dangerous circles, but none was the type to abruptly and without explanation cut all contact with family and friends. At dead ends in all three investigations, sheriff's detectives last week released the women's photos and information about their disappearances, hoping that someone can provide some leads.
``Somebody knows what happened to these girls,'' said detective Judy Gibson. ``Someday, they'll tell us, or someone will find some remains. Until then, the case will never close.'' Anyone who has information is asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
Jones, who would be 20 today, was last seen by boyfriend Randy Coleman on April 20, 1997, in their duplex in the 38300 block of 11th Street East. Her mother, Debriana Jones, reported her missing and later hired a private investigator to help search for her, detectives said. Diagnosed as a manic-depressive, Juliandra Jones requires medication. Her mother became her conservator in July 1996, set up a bank account for her and made sure she got her medications.
``It's very hard on her mother,'' said Detective Mary Bice. ``As long as her body's missing, she's hoping she's still alive.'' Juliandra Jones has hazel eyes, brown shoulder-length hair and a tattoo of a rose on her left shoulder. She is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs approximately 125 pounds.
Since Jones vanished, detectives have received numerous tips and searched several areas of the desert, but with no luck. In November 1997, officials thought they had solved the case. A jail inmate told detectives there was a body buried in a pigpen in the 22800 block of East Avenue O-8, a vacant ranch that once held an illicit drug lab. Then other informants told them the body was Jones'. A body was found in the pigpen, but it turned out to be that of a man - still unidentified. Coroner's officials and 14 anthropology students returned to the ranch, spending weeks looking for signs of another body. No sign of Juliandra Jones.
Detectives say they still get calls from people claiming that Jones is buried out there. ``There's been a constant investigation with people,'' Bice said. ``The crowds she ran in; everybody knows everybody.''
