Fresno County deputies seek help in search for woman missing for more than two weeks
A 27-year-old Auberry woman has been missing for more than two weeks since she was last seen near a foothill casino. Fresno County sheriff’s detectives are asking for the public’s help with any leads that could shed light on what happened to her.
The family of Bessie Walker filed a missing-person report with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 8, several days after she was last spotted near the Mono Wind Casino near Auberry. At that time, she was wearing a pink dress and sandals.
In a social media post Friday, the sheriff’s office reported that Walker was last seen Aug. 4, adding that “detectives have been working this case non-stop” since the family reported her missing. But in social media comments, friends and family members of Walker criticized the search effort, calling for more to be done including deploying helicopters and search dogs to help find her.
Sheriff’s detectives described Walker as 5 feet 2 inches tall and 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo of a crown on her right hand and the name “Charles Alex Riley” tattooed on her chest.
In their own posts asking for help in the search, Walker’s family said she was last seen Aug. 5 near the casino, and offered a description that varies from that provided by sheriff’s detectives. They said she recently cut her hair to shoulder length and it is light brown in color. They report her as 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing between 130 and 140 pounds.
The family also reports additional tattoos, including the name “Melba Ruth Beecher” on her right upper forearm, a dandelion blowing away on her right arm/wrist, a star on her outer right wrist, and the name “Buddy Ray” on her left arm. They added that the crown tattoo on he right hand also includes a capital letter R.
Anyone with information about Walker’s disappearance or her location is asked to contact sheriff’s Detective Oscar Iniguez at 559-600-8201 or Sgt. Chad Stokes at 559-600-8144.
