Full Notification

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada is actively investigating the whereabouts of 23-year-old Dianne Thacher who was reported missing on October 11. The Sheriff’s Office has several detectives assigned to the case. They are following up on leads and are in the process of gathering new information. At this point, no foul play is suspected but the case is considered suspicious.

Sheriff’s detectives are looking at Thacher’s phone records, social media posts and are conducting interviews with family and friends in hopes of determining the circumstances leading up to her disappearance.

Investigators are also working to get a more detailed analysis of Thacher’s phone records to help pinpoint a more specific location of where she might be located. Thacher’s cellular phone has not been recovered, but an emergency “ping” of the phone placed it in an area approximately 5 to 10 miles north of the City of Goleta and south of Gaviota along the coast. The area is about 15 miles west of where her car, a dark blue 2000 Honda CRV with a Rhode Island license plate, was located abandoned with a flat tire on October 6. Santa Barbara County Air Support has flown the area several times. Before dusk last night, October 12, Sheriff’s Search and Rescue members, with the assistance of a k-9, searched the area where her car was located. Both ground and aerial searches will resume as new information is obtained regarding her last known location.

We understand there are many people who are very concerned about Thacher’s well-being. We will update you as new information is available. We encourage anyone with information that may be of assistance in this missing person case to contact the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division at 805-681-4150 or to leave an anonymous tip call 805-681-4171.