Dec 29, 2007 12:17 am US/Pacific
Volunteers Wanted In Search For Missing Woman
MALIBU, Calif. (CBS) ―
Volunteers are being sought for a weekend search in Malibu for Donna Jou, an Orange County college student who went missing June 23.
About 60 volunteers have registered to join attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Jou's parents, to search for Jou in the Santa Monica Mountains Saturday and Sunday, with the assistance of Trinity Search & Recovery, Allred said.
"We're hoping to find Donna or any information or clues that lead to finding her," Allred said. "We're hoping this weekend family, friends and strangers will be able to take time to join us in this search."
The location was chosen based on information she had, Allred said.
"The location is not random," said Allred, who said she was unable to add details. "The family has not conducted a search and they desperately want to look. This seems to be the place that could potentially produce answers."
The search will be conducted on foot and in cars, Allred said.
"We're looking forward to as comprehensive a search as possible," Allred said.
Volunteer searchers can register online at
www.trinitysearch.org, Allred said.
Jou was 19 years old when she hopped on the back of a motorcycle driven by John Steven Burgess, 35, a convicted sex criminal, on June 23. That was the last time her family saw her, and brief text messages from her phone indicate that she was locked in a bathroom and in danger at Burgess' house, her family said.
Burgess is considered a suspect -- but has not been charged -- in the disappearance of Jou, whose family lives in Rancho Santa Margarita. He pleaded no contest Oct. 10 in a Los Angeles courtroom to two counts of failing to register as a sex offender and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Burgess has not given any hints about Jou's whereabouts.
Deputy District Attorney Christi Frey said after an October hearing that Burgess' attorney, George F. Bird Jr., "said he can't advise his client to talk about anything that might incriminate him. He still has the right to remain silent, the right not to incriminate himself. And we can't force him to talk."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
