A woman reported missing from rural Yavapai County since early 2024 may have turned up alive hundreds of miles away in Tijuana, Mexico — but her own sister says she still isn't convinced it's really her. Shayna Feinman disappeared in early 2024 under circumstances that eventually led investigators to seek murder charges against her boyfriend, and her case has remained unresolved for more than two and a half years.
Tijuana's municipal public safety department said officers located a woman matching Feinman's description on Friday, Oct. 23, in the city's Encino neighborhood, according to uniradiobaja.com. The department said that after confirming her identity, officers provided her protection and moved her to a safe location, and that Mexican authorities arranged for U.S. consular officials and her relatives to make contact with her so the appropriate procedures could move forward.
But that confirmation hasn't settled anything back in Arizona. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said it has not been able to independently confirm the woman's identity due to “insufficient evidence,” as reported by azfamily.com. Feinman's sister, Kara, told the outlet she does not recognize the person found in Mexico and does not have hard evidence that the person is her sister.
A Disappearance That Led to Murder Charges
Feinman vanished without a trace on March 9, 2024, while walking to a friend's house near Seligman, according to the same azfamily.com report. An earlier account from sacbee.com described her as reported missing from the Hyde Park area near Seligman on March 18, after she was last seen on March 8, while the azfamily.com report said she vanished on March 9. That same outlet reported investigators found her car abandoned near the property where she had been staying with her boyfriend, with her wallet and identification still inside.
Two men were arrested in connection with her disappearance in 2024, the station's report noted. The case had grown serious enough that Yavapai County authorities pursued charges against Feinman's boyfriend, Cavett Richards, and William DalCerro that included second-degree murder, concealment of a dead body and conspiracy, per the same account. Despite the charges, Feinman's body was never recovered, sacbee.com reported.
Doubts Persist as Investigation Continues
The gap between what Tijuana authorities are saying and what Yavapai County and Feinman's own family are saying remains wide. Mexican officials have described her identity as confirmed, while county investigators maintain they simply don't have enough evidence to verify that independently — and her sister says the same. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said it is still investigating this new development, according to azfamily.com.
For a family that has waited more than two and a half years for answers, the uncertainty cuts both ways: the possibility that Shayna Feinman is alive, and the fear that it might not be her at all. No timeline has been given for when, or whether, that question will be resolved.
