VISTA, CA – The body of a Vista businesswoman who was reported missing about two weeks ago was found in Mexico, the victim of an apparent homicide, police said Monday. San Diego sheriff's deputies were notified by Mexican authorities Monday that Jane Kling, 68, was found about 45 miles south of San Felipe, deputies said.
Kling's children reported her missing March 15. She owned the two A&J consignment shops in Vista.
Mexican authorities also found Kling's Dodge Caravan, also reported missing, near the area where her body was discovered, deputies said.
Homicide investigators in Ensenada are conducting an investigation into her death.
Additional information from Mexican authorities was not immediately available. They planned to hold a news conference Monday afternoon in Ensenada.
If the mexican cops manage to catch those who did this , they will be in the next wave of prisoners shipped to the streets of the US.
Hee are a few details from an earlier article:
Sherri Holmes is hugged by her father, Bob Harjo, after he arrived to see how she was doing Friday while Holmes was getting her mother's consignment store, A&J Consignment, ready for re-opening in downtown Vista. Holmes' mother Jane Kling has been missing since about March 13. Harjo has long since been divorced from Kling.
HAYNE PALMOUR IV Staff Photographer
Order a copy of this photo
Visit our Photo Gallery
People have left candles and flowers in front of A&J Consignment owned by Jane Kling, who has been missing since about March 13, in downtown Vista on Friday.
HAYNE PALMOUR IV Staff Photographer
Order a copy of this photo
Visit our Photo Gallery
A long war in Iraq
As the war in Iraq enters its fourth year, an increasing number of Americans are expressing their opposition to President Bush's handling of the conflict. Many also say that Iraq is on the brink of civil war. Still U.S. officials say withdrawing troops would prove detrimental to the building of a democratic government there. What is the best strategy for decreasing U.S. troops in Iraq and transitioning power to Iraqis? 20
Visit our news blogs at blog.nctimes.com.
Hope flickers for missing Vista businesswoman
By: CRAIG TENBROECK - Staff Writer
VISTA ---- The candles on the ground near the locked door of the A&J consignment store on Main Street had melted to nothing by Thursday afternoon.
But somebody quietly replenished the display, and on Friday morning, tall flames once again flickered from fresh wicks.
The mysterious and unresolved disappearance of a Vista businesswoman nearly two weeks ago has cast a pall over the downtown business community, but the friends and family of 68-year-old Jane Kling aren't quite ready to let the light flicker out.
An unsolved mystery
Despite efforts by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and dozens of community volunteers, the investigation into Kling's whereabouts has produced few comforting answers.
Adam York, Kling's 25-year-old grandson and the "A" in A&J Consignment, said he was the last known person to see Kling. As he drove past her home between 5:30 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. on March 13, she was pulling into her driveway, York said.
Lt. Dennis Brugos of the Sheriff's Department said Thursday there was evidence Kling made a bank transaction the following morning. Family members confirmed Friday they have seen pictures of Kling from an ATM security camera.
"We have nothing after that," said Sherri Holmes, one of the woman's four daughters.
Kling, who owns consignment stores in downtown Vista and on East Vista Way, missed a business appointment March 14, and because she had left her cell phone at work, family members were unable to contact her. When her silence continued throughout the day, the family grew concerned.
On March 15, they contacted the Sheriff's Department.
Though Kling lived alone, she was not the type to disappear without telling people where she was going, friends and family said last week. It was also worrisome that the two dogs she doted after were left untended.
Karen Bushgens, a friend and neighboring business owner, said Kling is sharp on her feet and unlikely to find herself in an situation where she is in over her head.
"She knew how to talk to everybody," Bushgens said Friday. "She could talk to the scummiest person or the queen of England."
The family's initial fear was that she had a medical emergency, as Kling had a history of heart trouble, daughter Lauri Taylor said last week.
"There's nothing to suggest any foul play, other than she's gone, which seems to be out of her character," Brugos said.
But for Holmes, no news is "absolutely" worse than bad news.
"Your imagination can be tortuous," she said.
Looking for clues
On scores of windows downtown, there are fliers with pictures of the well-liked Kling and her license plate, which reads "RENES."
"I want to shout to the world, 'This woman is missing! Help us out!' " said Karen Clay, executive director of the Vista Village Business Association that is housed next to Kling's consignment shop on Main Street.
But as the days pass, fewer and fewer options remain and frustrations in the community mount.
"We'd like to do more to help, but we don't know what to do," said Bushgens, adding that she is thinking about hosting a prayer vigil.
The Sheriff's Department has met with several people and scoured the city with a helicopter in search of Kling's dark green 1997 Dodge Caravan. The family said detectives brought police dogs to Kling's house to help in the investigation.
Still, there are "no definitive leads," Brugos said Thursday.
The department will continue to investigate if and when new information turns up, but it is starting to scale back its efforts, Brugos said.
"We're always hoping," Kling's grandson said. "But the more time that goes by, the further away she seems to get."
Family, community in limbo
Kling's four daughters, who are scattered throughout Southern California, are struggling to juggle their own families and careers with a search that, for them, has no deadline.
"We just became proud owners of a new house today," said Holmes, who lives in Hermosa Beach. "But I can't even get excited about it."
On Friday, family members spent the morning packing up the consignment store on East Vista Way. Kling's two stores, which have about 1,000 consigners between them, were shuttered last week, but financial pressures have convinced the family to consolidate the goods and reopen this weekend on Main Street.
The business, however, belongs to Jane Kling, and without her, their future is up in the air.
"I'm taking over for now, but we probably won't be open for much longer," her grandson said.
As the week drew to a close, friends and associates said they were still holding out hope for a positive resolution. Flowers, candles and cards lined the sidewalk by the Main Street store.
"She's a very friendly, very funny lady," said Michael Presto, who said he washed windows for Kling for several months. "It's just a shame."
Bushgens said recent events have made her think twice about her own safety and she has started closing her own shop early.
"When something like this happens, it's not just the family that needs to heal," Karen Clay said. "It's the entire community."
Anyone with information about Kling's whereabouts is asked to call Detective Johnson at (760) 525-1107 or e-mail the family at
helpusfindjane@yahoo.com.
Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 631-6621 or
ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.