Sheriff’s homicide detectives and family members of a 49-year-old Covina-area grandmother missing since May issued pleas for information leading to her whereabouts.
The last confirmed sighting of Tamara Rummel was on the afternoon of May 20 at a bank ATM in Covina, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Thursday.
Deputy Lillian Peck of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said Rummel’s daughter “last saw her mother when she dropped her off at her home in an unincorporated area of Covina.
Investigators believe Rummel left her home about 90 minutes later as a passenger in an “unfamiliar” SUV, Peck said. Images of a man with Rummel were captured at the ATM where she made a withdrawal, but detectives haven’t confirmed if he was the same person who Rummel left the house with, Peck said.
“Also suspicious, Tamara’s cell phone activity ended hours after the ATM transaction, and she has not been seen or heard from since,” Peck said.
Detectives are seeking the man’s identity and believe he may have information about what happened to Rummel. They released a sketch of him at a news conference at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles.
Rummel’s family described her as a mother of four and doting grandmother of six who retired 10 years ago as media director of a resource center for parents with special needs children, Peck said.
She owned her home and was close to family and friends, making a disappearance and lack of communication since then totally out of character, investigators and family members said.
The man detectives want to identify wore a white T-shirt ad baseball cap with an unknown logo on the front.
Rummel, known to her friends and family as “Tammy,” is white, 5 feet 3 inches tall and about 145 pounds, with light brown hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts was urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500 and ask for Sgts. Ken Perry or Dan McElderry.
Anonymous tips can be provided through Crime Stoppers by calling (800) 222-TIPS.
–City News Service