Three Disappearances from Donnell Vista, California
Donnell Lake seen from Donnell Vista, California.
Donnell Vista is a small scenic area in the Sierra Nevadas mountain range on California State Route 108. It overlooks Donnell Lake, a reservoir that was formed by damming the Stanislaus River. This area is north of Yosemite National Park and south of Lake Tahoe.
Nita Mayo
Nita Mary Mayo disappeared on Monday August 8th, 2005 after leaving her home in Hawthorne, Nevada for a one-day trip across the Sonora Pass (a mountain pass along SR-108 east of the Donnell Vista).
Nita was last seen at the Strawberry General Store in the small town of Strawberry, Tuolumne County (about 15 miles from Donnell Vista). Her coworkers at Mount Grant General Hospital reported her missing to the Mineral County, Nevada, Sheriff’s Office when she failed to return to work the next day.
Her car was located at the Donnell Vista by a Tuolumne County sheriff’s sergeant on Wednesday evening. The car was locked and contained items from the general store, her purse, glasses and car keys (her car also had a keypad lock).
It was later discovered that the car had been seen there by a California state highway worker on Monday and Tuesday.
Search dogs could find no scent except around the car and no evidence of Nita was found in the area.
In September, investigators identified a woman named Jewel Jeanne Rice as a person of interest as she was seen in the Strawberry and Donnell Vista area around the same time. Reports are that Jewel was asking for help after her car broke down.
The Eagle Canyon Flyer article (link below) says that Jewel’s current whereabouts are unknown.
According to the Mineral County Independent News article (link below), Nita’s daughter Tracy said that a man who had been a patient at Nita’s hospital showed up on the day Nita’s car was found claiming he had heard she had disappeared but had been found. Tracy said this was “weird” since the searches had not started yet.
The man would later fail a polygraph test, but no arrest was made.
The article also stated that a year later, Tracy drove from her home in North Dakota to Texas to confront the man. She didn’t say a word to him, but he recognized her and said, “Hello, Tracy. How are you?”
Patricia Tolhurst
Patricia Sue Tolhurst disappeared sometime after April 18th, 2014, when she was last seen in Twain Harte, California. She mailed a letter on April 20th to some friends saying she was going to Kennedy Meadows to “put her feet in the water.” She also sent two audiotapes telling her life story to another friend.
Donnell Vista is situated between Twain Harte and Kennedy Meadows, where Patricia’s car was found. Inside were her keys, purse and identification.
Her Charley Project page (link below) says that she may have been distraught over financial problems at the time of her disappearance.
Breck Phelps
Breck McDowell Phelps disappeared sometime before October 3rd, 2016.
He went on a fishing trip on the Stanislaus river and hasn’t been seen since. A friend found his car parked about a quarter mile from Donnell Vista.
A search of the river turned up no sign of him.
There’s More…
Jewel Jeanne Rice was identified as a person of interest in Nita Mayo’s disappearance, but her current whereabouts are unknown. Is she missing too?
Michael Madden disappeared from his campsite at Sand Bar Flat in August 1996. Sand Bar Flat is about 25 miles south-east of Donnell Vista. The Eagle Canyon Flyer article (link below) says that when Michael’s friends went looking for him they found a Joseph Tine in his campsite. Joseph was carrying a pistol and asked them if they were looking for “Mikey.”
Michael Madden was never seen again.
Links:
Mineral County Independent News:
Eagle Canyon Flyer:
Nita Mary Mayo Charley Project:
http://charleyproject.org/case/nita-mary-mayo
Patricia Sue Tolhurst Charley Project:
http://charleyproject.org/case/patricia-sue-tolhurst
Breck McDowell Phelps Charley Project:
http://charleyproject.org/case/breck-mcdowell-phelps
Michael Larry Madden Charley Project: