Loretta "Kay" Colwell Pilitsis, a 55-year-old and much-loved California teacher, has been found dead just a short distance from her home in Piñon Hills, more than a month after she went missing. She had left her residence on foot on 25 May, prompting an extensive police search involving K-9 units and an aviation team. Her death brings a tragic conclusion to a case that had baffled investigators for almost six weeks.

Officers were called to a section of Oasis Road at around 8pm on 30 June, following a report of a body in the desert, and found her remains less than five minutes' walk from her home. Her cause of death has not yet been released, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Specialized Investigations Division is leading the inquiry. Her cousin, Jon Fenton, announced her death on Facebook, describing the family as "devastated" but relieved she had been found, and thanking all those who helped in the search.