Then 15-year-old Pearl Pinson was on her way to school when she disappeared, just blocks from her home in Vallejo. To mark the anniversary, supporters decorated the site and handed out pearl necklaces as a symbol of remembrance.
Tuesday, May 26, 2026 2:05AMThe overpass where 15-year-old Pearl Pinson Rodriguez was last seen a decade ago became a place of remembrance as community members gathered ahead of a vigil in her honor.
Pearl was on her way to school when she disappeared, just blocks from her home. To mark the anniversary, supporters decorated the site and handed out pearl necklaces as a symbol of remembrance.
"We don't want them to think that she's forgotten. This is an effort to show care and love from the community," said Jacque Barsotti of Suite Treatments. Pearl's father, James Pinson, said he continues to cope with the uncertainty surrounding his daughter's disappearance.
"Part of me is missing. Not knowing where she is at. I just deal with it one day at a time," he said. Witnesses reported seeing Pearl being dragged into a car.
Her father said law enforcement did not act quickly enough at the time.
"Hoping to bring awareness that this can happen to anybody. Trying to get the law change on the AMBER Alert. It should have been sooner than what it was almost 22 hours later," James Pinson said. Pearl's body has never been found.
Authorities identified 19-year-old Fernando Castro as the suspect in the case. Pearl's family said they did not know each other. Over the years, Pearl's sister, Rose Pinson Rodriguez, has searched for answers, including tracking down the witness who last saw her. She said the witness heard a disturbance and ran outside to help but was threatened by the suspect.
"After he left, he heard another gunshot. Other witnesses heard Pearl screaming 'stop' after that last gunshot and then he was seen throwing her into the trunk of his car," she said. DNA on cigarette links suspect to 'brutal' San Rafael homicide cold case, solving 1966 murder "The only thing they found of her was just a little bit of blood of her in his trunk," Rose Pinson Rodriguez said.
"There is 32 hours missing of where he was. " In a statement, the Solano County Sheriff's Office said, "we continue to investigate leads as they come in and this remains an active case with the sheriff's office. " The Pinson family is asking investigators to continue searching and is also calling on the city of Vallejo to name the overpass after Pearl. "What would closure look like for you?
" ABC7 Eyewitness News reporter Luz Pena asked. "Recover her and put her to rest," James Pinson said. "Somebody knows. I mean the way that guy went about it somebody knows.
If not one of his family members. "
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