71-year-old last seen near salon a month ago found dead by interstate, CA officials say

A missing woman with dementia was found dead about a month after she was last seen, California officials said.

Vivian Crowder, 71, was last seen Oct. 29 near a salon in La Mesa, according to a Nov. 7 news release by the city.

She was last seen wearing a beige head wrap, denim jack and black pants with rhinestones, the release said.

Someone reported seeing Crowder at a grocery store later on Oct. 29 and at an IHOP on Nov. 6, but investigators couldn’t confirm she had been there, officials said.

Then on Dec. 2, California Highway Patrol and Caltrans workers found Crowder dead along the on-ramp of an interstate, according to a Dec. 3 news release by the city.

“She’s the oldest of her siblings,” her nephew, Kenneth Crowder, told KNSD. “She took care of all of them. She took care of all her nieces and nephews, like myself, and she just raised the whole family really.”

Vivian Crowder’s cause of death is pending, and the investigation remains ongoing, officials said.

La Mesa is about a 10-mile drive northeast of downtown San Diego.

This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 1:31 PM with the headline "71-year-old last seen near salon a month ago found dead by interstate, CA officials say."