Community Members Unite in Search for Missing Mother

Relentless rain could not deter a group of around 30 individuals from searching for Martha Gutierrez on Saturday. The search party, consisting of friends, relatives and neighbors of the Gutierrez family, searched high and low throughout the morning and afternoon for the 52-year-old mother who was last seen seven days ago.

Police released a statement Friday saying Martha could . Her son, a 27-year-old Iraq War veteran, is suspected of shooting his11-year-old sister, Lucero, and then turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide.

The search party convened at The Redwoods apartment complex before dispersing into small groups and storming off in search.

The majority spent time combing the creek bed at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Bolsa Road near Headstart Nursery, where Martha apparently works. Others searched along Kern Avenue and Mt. Madonna County Park.

"We don't want to step on police toes, but we want to do something and act on our feelings and emotions right now," said Rachel Armendariz, whose children attend where Lucero was a sixth grader.

Mario Reyes, who lives below the apartment where the murder-suicide took place, recalled the last time he saw Lucero—when she knocked on his door to borrow a pizza dish Wednesday morning—and said that memory haunts him. He hopes the search will bring closure to the Gutierrez family and added that he feels a sense of duty to help search for Martha.

“I feel obligated to go out and search for her—she’s my little girl’s best friend’s mom," he said. "That alone is motivation enough to go looking for Martha.”

An attendee who met the Gutierrez family through church, Josh Hernandez, decried the mental health care services provided to veterans like Abel.

"This is crazy," he said. "The army should deal better with soldiers coming back from Iraq."

Some search members, like Art Barron, didn’t know the Gutierrez family, but wanted to do what they could to help out.

"I know what a tragedy it is all the way around," Barron said. "There’s a lot of anxiety among people who live in the complex right now and finding Martha would provide closure."

Ultimately, the search party did not reveal any clues about Martha’s whereabouts, nor did , but search organizer Blanca Amezquita was not dissuaded.

"I'm going to keep looking for her today, tomorrow and the next day," she said. "This is not done for me."