Ten years after Pearl Pinson’s kidnapping in Vallejo and her abductor’s death in Solvang, her family has more questions than answers.
As others were prepping for a new week of school or work after a three-day weekend, approximately 50 members of Pinson’s family and friends gathered for a memorial Monday night in Vallejo. The event, which marked the 10th anniversary, took place at the site where 15-year-old Pinson disappeared while on her way to school in Vallejo.
Those in attendance had questions that neither her sister, Rose Pinson Rodriguez, nor detectives can answer.
“We had a lot of support, a lot of love, a lot of people expressing how they feel about the case, which I 100% agree with. A lot of people were upset that he was killed,” Pinson Rodriguez said of the suspect, Fernando Castro.
A decade after the disappearance, her sister described Pearl as a normal teenager with a good heart.
“She loved people. She loved being outdoors. She loved animals. She was always laughing and smiling,” her sister said. “She was a really, really smart young lady.”
Reminders of Pinson pop up “always, every day,” Pinson Rodriguez said, with her 5-year-old son displaying similar traits, including asking, “But, why?”
“And then he has her laugh, her attitude. Every day I think of her because of the way he acts,” Pinson Rodriguez said.
Witnesses on the morning of May 25, 2016, reported seeing an armed man dragging a bleeding and screaming Pinson off a pedestrian overpass near her bus stop.
An Amber Alert was issued and, a day later, authorities spotted the car of her alleged abductor, 19-year-old Castro, traveling south on Highway 101 north of Los Alamos.
A chase ensued and, after exiting the freeway in Buellton, Castro exchanged fire with Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies who had cornered him in a Solvang neighborhood. Castro died of gunshot wounds at the scene.
In September 2017, a Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office investigation ruled the shooting a justifiable homicide.
In all, deputies fired 36 .223-caliber rounds, with evidence at the scene matching witness reports that Castro fired at officers who fired back.
Castro’s gun revealed it had three fired .38 Special cartridge casings and still had two unfired cartridges. His firearm, a .38-caliber Rossi M68 revolver, had been modified with a piece of pipe.
Pinson Rodriguez recently reached out to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office to find out more information about the shooting.
“I really want to know what happened so that way I can understand the whole case completely and figure out what I need to do to find my sister and bring her home and get closure my family needs,” she added.
With Castro dead, Pinson’s whereabouts after what the Solano County Sheriff’s Office labeled a forcible kidnapping have remained a mystery for the past 10 years.
“Unfortunately, he may have taken the secret of what happened to Pearl with him to his grave,” the Solano County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post noting the anniversary.
Solano County investigators continue to follow up on any new leads they receive about the case.
Anyone with information that could help find Pinson can contact the Solano County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 707.784.1963. All tips can remain anonymous.
Pinson Rodriguez said the tips could provide answers about what happened to her sister, giving the family, friends and community “the healing we deserve.”
Efforts are in the works to ensure that Pinson’s plight isn’t forgotten and to educate others about precautions to prevent attacks. They are working with the City of Vallejo and Caltrans.
“Our plan is to rename the overpass in Pearl’s honor. We want to call it Pearl’s Place,” she said.
Along with telling Pinson’s story, she wants the plaques to detail abduction prevention information.
“We’re just trying to not only have it for Pearl in her memory, but we’re trying to give ways to help other people if they’re in the situation or before they’re in the situation or what to do if they see somebody in the situation,” Pinson Rodriguez added.