Shortly after a Lake Tahoe woman was reported missing, her boyfriend was caught after allegedly fleeing Reno in the car of a man who had been shot to death.
Now the woman’s body has been found off a mountain highway, and investigators in California and Nevada are trying to piece together the events.
The case began with a missing-persons report to the Placer County sheriff’s office on Friday, Aug. 9: Patricia Portella-Wright, 48, had failed to show up for work. A photographer and an art gallery employee, she lived with her boyfriend, Brent Clifford, 55, in Kings Beach and had last been seen on Aug. 4.
Deputies were unable to contact Clifford and began searching for him.
A possible clue was found two days later. On Sunday, Aug. 11, police were called to a home in Reno where they found William Andrews, 68, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Andrews, it turned out, was an acquaintance of Brent Clifford.
After the connection was made, the Placer County sheriff’s office sought the public’s help in finding Andrews’ missing vehicle, a red Chevrolet Blazer. The office said the SUV had last been seen near Hallelujah Junction, on Highway 70 in California, and it released a security camera image of the vehicle being driven past the Circus Circus casino in downtown Reno.
The Blazer’s driver was thought to be Clifford, it said.
Around 4 p.m. Wednesday, Clifford was arrested in Portola on suspicion of identity theft. The Blazer was found nearby.
As the search for Portella-Wright continued, investigators found information that directed them to the Mount Rose area. On Thursday, a drone spotted a body on a steep slope below Mount Rose Highway between the ski area and the Galena Forest neighborhood. It was recovered and that afternoon determined to be Portella-Wright’s. A Placer County sheriff’s spokesman did not give a cause of death but said there were signs of foul play.
With the identification, Clifford was charged with homicide. He was in Placer County Jail on Thursday.
Map points
1: Patricia Portella-Wright, who lived in Kings Beach with Brent Clifford, was reported missing Aug. 9.
2: William Andrews was found fatally shot in his Reno home on Aug. 11.
3: After Andrews’ death, his SUV was seen at Hallelujah Junction.
4: Clifford was arrested in Portola on Aug. 14.
5: Portella-Wright’s body was found Aug. 15 off Mount Rose Highway.
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