Remains of Missing Teen Identified

VENTURA — More than four months after she mysteriously disappeared from downtown Ventura one afternoon, authorities Wednesday confirmed that a set of weathered human remains discovered in a canyon near Montecito are those of missing teenager Jenniffer Rose Vernals.

Jenniffer, an Anacapa Middle School eighth-grader with a passion for alternative rock and close friendships, disappeared March 30 during a midday shopping trip in downtown Ventura. The 15-year-old was last seen about 1 p.m. leaving Trueblood Thrift Shop on East Main Street.

Missing posters with the smiling photo of the sandy-blond, cherubic-faced girl are still plastered on stores throughout Ventura County--placed there by her family after her disappearance.

Jenniffer’s remains were found by a rancher near Torro Canyon Road about three miles east of U. S. 101 in Santa Barbara County, authorities said. The rancher was checking his water wells Sunday when his dog brought him a bone from a human leg and ankle.

Most of the remains were scattered within a 50-foot radius, with some bones found more than half a mile away. Investigators speculate that the bones had been dispersed by animals.

Jenniffer’s identity was confirmed Wednesday through dental records. Police are still investigating the cause of death, but are treating it as a homicide. No suspects nor motives have been identified yet, police said.

The only child of Lois Bowens, who now lives in Oak View, Jenniffer was described by family members and friends as a fun-loving but responsible teenager. She turned 15 just two weeks before her disappearance.

“I just found out. It’s horrible. You have no idea,” her mother said soon after police had contacted the family about the discovery.

“She was the sweetest, most loving girl,” said Jenniffer’s grandmother, Virginia Bowens. “She was a darling. She always hugged and kissed me. Most kids don’t do that anymore.”

Jenniffer and her mother had lived in Ventura with Virginia Bowens, who was the last family member to see her alive.

“I was the one who dropped her off downtown,” Bowens said. “She wanted to buy some pants with holes in the knees. That’s a big thing with kids. But she never called for a ride home. . . . Then I got really worried.”

After her disappearance, the Ventura Police Department classified Jenniffer as a runaway.

“She’s been seen in Ventura in the company of other runaways who have since returned home,” Lt. Don Arth said in May, adding that police were nevertheless working on the case trying to determine her whereabouts.

But those who knew Jenniffer always maintained that she would never flee home, insisting that police are too quick to classify missing teens as runaways.

There was nothing motivating her to run away, they said--no arguments or any other incidents. On the morning of her disappearance, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Jenniffer washed her dog and cleaned her room for her $10 allowance and then went shopping. She was said to be looking forward to a family trip to San Francisco and Yosemite.

“I knew from the beginning that she wasn’t a runaway,” said Heather Martin, Jenniffer’s best friend. “She wasn’t the type to rebel. She would call home even if she was only going to be five minutes late. She always called home. She loved her family.”

Heather, 13, said she met Jenniffer at Anacapa Middle School last year and the two quickly became close friends.

“We were inseparable,” Heather said. “She always brought me up when I was feeling down.

“She had a lot of qualities one wants in a friend. She was always truthful, and she didn’t do drugs, drink or steal. She was really sweet. She was my best friend.”

The teens would spend hours listening to the popular bands Nirvana and Hole, and liked to walk around town and shop, Heather said.

“She asked me to go shopping with her that day, but I couldn’t go,” Heather said. “This is my worst nightmare. I was not expecting this.”

Bowens said her granddaughter’s innocence may have led to her demise.

“She was such a darling that I could see her suckered so easily into some scam. I can just see some man asking her to just come to his car for a minute.”

Times correspondent Scott Hadly contributed to this story.