Body found in rural area of Perris ID'd as Menifee woman

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The Riverside County Coroner’s Office has identified a body found in a rural area of Perris as that of Karen Winteringham, who has been missing from her Menifee home since Aug. 4, according to authorities.

Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call at 3:40 p.m. Tuesday to the discovery of human remains in an undeveloped area, according to a Menifee Police Department news release. The scene was secured and detectives began an investigation, which led to the belief that the body might be Winteringham.

An exhaustive search of the area was conducted by Sheriff’s deputies, search and rescue volunteers, and MPD detectives. Detectives do not believe the death was criminal in nature, according to the news release. They believe it’s possible Winteringham, 66, succumbed to a medical emergency or non-criminal trauma.

Law enforcement officials and volunteers conducted a coordinated search of Menifee and outlying areas in the days following the reported disappearance of Winteringham, who was last seen about 9 a.m. on Aug. 4 in the 26000 block of Mehaffey Street in the Sun City community. She was known to police officers from previous missing person reports.

A Silver Alert was issued on Aug. 5 and residents spent several days searching for Winteringham in local neighborhoods, open fields and hilly areas. Local TV stations also picked up the story, but there were no leads in the case.

Winteringham suffered from dementia, high blood pressure, and heart complications, said her granddaughter, Maki A. Smith, in an Aug. 11 interview with Menifee 24/7.

"She walked out while her husband (my grandpa) was in the shower," Smith said at the time. "She has walked out before, but we almost always are there to get her back in, or even the police have brought her right back home. Never like this."

Officers’ search for Winteringham included hospitals, businesses, neighborhood canvas, and locations where she was known to frequent. Detectives and officers continued to search by passing out fliers to the community, businesses, Riverside Transit Agency, hospitals, motels, and regional partners. Detectives requested assistance from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department helicopter and bloodhounds in the search, according to the news release.

Family members also organized a search party of volunteers in the days after the woman’s disappearance, meeting in the Cherry Hills Plaza and searching the immediate area and many outlying areas.

Detectives continue to investigate the case in an attempt to determine the cause of death. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Menifee Police Department Investigations Division at 951-723-1500 or the anonymous tip line at 951-723-1600.