It has been 900 days since Ana Barbosa was last seen near her family's Oildale auto shop, and her daughter still has not stopped looking for her. Ana Maria Leal Ochoa has spent that entire stretch of time pushing for information about her 53-year-old mother, who vanished from the Norris Road and Ray Street area in May 2024 and has not been found.
Barbosa, also known as Ana Lorena Ochoa Torres, was reported missing near Corner Shop Automotive Services in Oildale, according to turnto23.com. KGET’s warrant-based account says her husband, Fabian Barbosa, reported her missing on May 8, 2024; he owned the shop. Accounts of exactly when she was last seen differ: turnto23.com reported she disappeared May 6, while the Kern County Sheriff's Office said she may have last been seen the following day, May 7, driving a white pickup truck.
A Husband's Account and a Delayed Report
According to KGET, Fabian Barbosa did not actually report his wife missing until May 8, telling investigators he had not seen her since she left the auto shop around 4 p.m. two days earlier. Her cellphone, the station reported, had already gone out of service the night of May 6. Investigators have called him a person of interest in her disappearance, the station's report notes, though he has not been named as a suspect, charged, or arrested in connection with her disappearance.
Family members told sheriff's investigators that Barbosa had been a victim of domestic violence involving Fabian, per the same account. Investigators also found blood in a hallway of the couple's southwest Bakersfield home and swabbed it for DNA testing, the outlet reported, though the results and their significance have not been disclosed in available reporting.
A Reward and a Renewed Call for Help
Kern Secret Witness offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to answers in Barbosa's disappearance, KGET reported in a separate account of the case. The Kern County Sheriff's Office has also renewed its call for community assistance in the ongoing investigation, as noted by Bakersfield Now. The case is referenced under number 2024-00054072, according to a report from goldrushcam.com. Barbosa is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
For Leal Ochoa, the search has not quieted with time. As reported by turnto23.com, she has continued searching for her mother across the 900 days since the disappearance, and investigators continue to view her stepfather as a person of interest in the case.
A Community Rallies Behind the Search
The Oildale community has rallied around the search in visible ways, helping fund a billboard off Rosedale Highway since July, turnto23.com reported. A Facebook page tied to the case has also grown into a support community for women experiencing domestic violence, according to the same report. As 23ABC News documented in its coverage of the 900-day mark, Barbosa's daughter has not let the case fade from public attention even as the investigation continues without a resolution.
No arrests have been announced, and the evidence available does not establish Barbosa's current whereabouts or whether she is alive. Anyone with information has been urged to come forward as Kern County investigators continue working the case alongside the Kern County Sheriff's Office.
