A 13-year-old girl from Santa Rosa and a 19-year-old man are missing together, and investigators say the pair were tracked moving through two North Bay cities before vanishing from view. Deanna Mendoza Pfoutz was reported missing on October 1, and Jaden Wilson was last seen by family the following day, according to case details released by police this week.
The two were reportedly spotted together in Petaluma on October 4 before turning up in Santa Rosa the next day, according to SFGate. Petaluma sits roughly 15 miles south of Santa Rosa along Highway 101, and the timeline suggests the pair have been on the move together since early October. The Santa Rosa Police Department has said neither Pfoutz nor Wilson showed any indication of being a crime victim, per CBS News.
Case Numbers and Official Classification
Santa Rosa police have formally logged the cases as voluntarily missing, assigning case number 26-10877 to Pfoutz and 26-11047 to Wilson as of this week, according to the same SFGate report. That classification allows investigators to distinguish a voluntary departure from a non-custodial abduction, though it does not rule out concern for the pair's safety.
CBS News reported that Wilson has a medical condition requiring treatment that police have not disclosed and that the pair may be at risk. Under California Penal Code Section 14215, a missing person can be legally designated as at-risk if they require medical attention or face potential foul play, according to Justia Law. Separately, state law under Penal Code Section 14211 requires agencies to accept missing person reports without delay and submit them to statewide and national databases within two hours when the missing person is under 21 or deemed at-risk, according to FindLaw.
Descriptions Released to the Public
Pfoutz is described as 4 feet 11 inches tall and about 120 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes, according to CBS News. She was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt, black pajama pants and black shoes, and was carrying a black backpack. Police reports released this week also describe her as Hispanic, per SFGate.
Wilson is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall and about 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and black pants, per CBS News. He is described as a Black male in the same SFGate report that detailed the Petaluma and Santa Rosa sightings.
Legal Questions Around the Age Gap
The six-year age gap between the two has drawn attention given California law. Penal Code Section 261.5 prohibits sexual intercourse between an adult and a minor under 18 regardless of consent, and permits prosecutors to pursue misdemeanor or felony charges when the age gap exceeds three years, according to the Silver Law Firm.
How to Report a Sighting
Santa Rosa police are asking anyone who sees Pfoutz or Wilson to contact local law enforcement or the department's non-emergency dispatch center at 707-543-3595, per CBS News. The department also established a separate direct dispatch number, 707-528-5222, specifically for real-time sightings within Santa Rosa city limits, according to SFGate. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the department's Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Team, which investigates missing juvenile cases and operates out of the Family Justice Center with six detectives and one sergeant, according to a Santa Rosa Police Department video.
