Skeletal remains of missing California woman, 21, found in riverbed

Human skeletal remains discovered in the Ventura Riverbed last week have been identified as a 21-year-old woman who has been missing for more than a year, authorities announced Monday.

Zyanya Valora had last been seen on April 26, 2024, by family members at the home she shared with them in the 11000 block of North Ventura Avenue in Mira Monte, an unincorporated Ojai Valley community, the Ventura County Star reported.  

The 21-year-old’s parents, Damaris Dac and Gabriel Valora said on a website dedicated to finding their daughter that they believe she’d left the home at around 2 a.m. on April 25, 2024, possibly through her bedroom window where a screen had been removed.  

Family members also said that cellphone records showed her connected to public wi-fi just two blocks from the house at around 3 a.m., adding that they believe their daughter, who they said had autisim and had wandered off in the middle of night before, may have been abducted.  

During a search for the woman, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office K9’s teams tracked Valora’s scent to an area near the Oak View Community Center, about a mile south of her home, The Star reported.  

Despite the efforts to find the 21-year-old, her whereabouts remained a mystery until last week.

On Sept. 24, according to a VCSO news release, a local conservancy group was clearing invasive plant species in the Ventura Riverbed south of Baldwin Road, approximately 2.5 miles from Valora’s home, when they discovered what appeared to be human skeletal remains.  

VCSO Major Crime Bureau detectives responded to the scene, along with the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office, who confirmed that the remains were human, though the decedent could not immediately be identified.  

Two days later, on Sept. 26, the medical examiner’s office confirmed that the remains were Valora’s.  

On Monday, a second confirmation came from a Facebook group called Find Zyanya Valora.  

“It is with heavy hearts that we share that Zyanya has been found deceased,” a post on the page read. “Over the past 15 months, this community has shown incredible compassion and dedication in our search for Zyanya. As her loved ones process this information, we kindly ask for privacy during this time of grief.”  

While the details surrounding her disappearance remain unclear, the medical examiner’s office said that there were no “obvious signs of lethal trauma” and that the exact cause and manner of the 21-year-old’s death were pending further analysis.