Man Leads Officials to Body of Teenager Missing for a Week

A man suspected in the disappearance of a 14-year-old Ventura County girl missing for a week led authorities Saturday to her body, dumped in a drainage pipe about 30 miles north of Ojai.

The discovery ended the hopes of hundreds of volunteers who had trudged through rugged canyons across the Ojai Valley for the past week, including on Christmas, to look for the missing girl, Kali Manley.

As news spread confirming the death of the Nordhoff High School freshman, searchers gathered around Manley’s uncle, Jim, to offer hugs and say prayers.

Fighting back tears, Jim Manley thanked the volunteers.

“On behalf of my brother and the Manley family, who are devastated at this time with this news, we would like to thank the over 1,200 volunteers in this marvelous community of Ojai and Oak View who have been searching for our beloved Kali, the most wonderful girl,” Manley said.

An attorney for 22-year-old David Alvarez, taken into custody Tuesday on unrelated charges, said his client is a suspect in the case. Alvarez has acknowledged that he is connected to the girl’s disappearance and wanted to tell authorities where the body could be found, said defense attorney Louis Chuck Samonsky. But Samonsky had instructed him to keep quiet.

Samonsky said he had been trying for several days to get assurances from Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury that his office would not seek the death penalty in exchange for Alvarez’s help locating Manley’s body. Prosecutors, he said, refused.

On Saturday, under pressure from Alvarez and his family, Samonsky said he finally allowed his client to lead authorities to the girl’s body.

“This has been extremely gut-wrenching for me. I’m heartbroken on behalf of the [Manley] family,” Samonsky said.

Manley’s body was found about 2 p.m. in a section of drainage pipe that cuts through a snow-patched ravine under California 33. Authorities said the body had not been covered or buried. The remote locale was five miles north of where search crews had been earlier on Saturday.

About 4:30 p.m., medical examiners and search and rescue crews pulled the body onto a stretcher, wrapped it in a blue tarp and carried it up a steep 40-foot embankment.

It’s not clear how Manley died or what role Alvarez, an Ojai resident, may have played in her death. Alvarez remains in custody on unrelated charges.

Sgt. Chuck Buttell, spokesman for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, said Alvarez was initially arrested on suspicion of brandishing a firearm and making a terrorist threat.

Buttell had no further information on those charges and would not comment on Alvarez’s alleged connection to Manley’s disappearance or death. The district attorney also declined to comment Saturday.

Samonsky said he did not know whether his client had been arrested in connection with Manley’s slaying. He said authorities did not need to immediately arrest Alvarez since he remained in custody on $250,000 bail on the unrelated charges.

Manley, who would have turned 15 on Tuesday, was last seen with two men at a Circle K convenience store on California 33 on Dec. 19. Her father, Charles Manley, said his daughter last spoke to him on the phone about 5 p.m., just hours before she disappeared, to say she was spending the night at a friend’s house.

Later at the Circle K, Manley, her long blond hair falling over a black Adidas sweatshirt and a pink tank top, was seen climbing into a green truck with two males. By Sunday night, no one had heard from Manley and her parents called authorities.

From the beginning, the girl’s parents suspected the worst. Manley, described by friends as a shy, sweet girl, had never run away from home.

For days rescuers tried to stay optimistic that they would find Manley alive. But hopes diminished with each passing day.

Sgt. Buttell said that even though the case had a tragic ending, the family was touched by all those who came out to support them.

“It was overwhelming to see people they didn’t even know come out and search for their little girl,” Buttell said.

Turning to those who gathered at the Nordhoff High command post as it was being dismantled Saturday evening, Buttell said, “You should all be proud of yourselves because we are very proud of you.”

The search for Manley galvanized the small town, turning out hundreds of volunteers to look for the teenager.

“The outpouring of all the volunteers was an indication of the community coming together,” Mayor Steve Olsen said. “It’s kind of put a damper on our Christmas here in Ojai that there was such a negative thing that happened. I think our community pulls together when somebody’s in need.”

The Manley family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Ojai substation of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

*

Times staff writer Tracy Wilson and Community News reporter Jennifer Hamm contributed to this story.