Retired teacher who went missing in Mojave Desert off-roading area is found dead

Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times on Jul 17, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — A retired Long Beach schoolteacher has been found dead in a remote desert area, six days after she went missing while riding her dirt bike, authorities said.

Julie Goforth, 63, was found Thursday afternoon, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a news release. The circumstances surrounding her death are still being investigated, the release said.

The department declined to say exactly where Goforth was found, or by whom, or whether her bike was also located. Goforth was reported missing last Friday in the sprawling El Mirage Dry Lake Off Highway Recreation Area near Adelanto.

In a statement, sheriff's officials offered condolences to Goforth's family and friends and expressed appreciation for those who joined in the extensive search, which included deputies and volunteers scouring the desert using off-road vehicles, bikes, horses, dogs, drones, helicopters and planes.

"The compassion, concern, and commitment shown by community members serve as a powerful reminder of the strength that comes from people coming together during difficult times," the statement said.

Goforth, an experienced rider, had recently gotten a new dirt bike, and she visited the 27,000-acre off-roading area with a friend to try it out, her daughter, Candice Walker, said Tuesday. But after struggling a bit to ride the bike, Goforth separated from her friend, telling him she was going back to their vehicle, Walker said. The friend later returned to the vehicle to find that Goforth wasn't there, she said.

It should have been a relatively straightforward undertaking to navigate from the area where Goforth was riding to the spot where the vehicle was parked, especially for someone familiar with the terrain, said Carrie Buelna of the nonprofit Friends of El Mirage, who works at the visitors center. "None of it is really making sense to us," she said earlier this week.

Authorities had been especially concerned by Goforth's disappearance because of the summer heat in the area, with temperatures topping 100 degrees for most of the week.

Goforth visited the off-roading area five or six times a year, her daughter said. While family members initially suspected she suffered a fall — perhaps into one of the old mine shafts that dot the area — they became concerned that something suspicious may have happened as search teams scoured the area but failed to find her.

Goforth had retired from her job as a schoolteacher, most recently at Albert Baxter Elementary School in Bellflower, within the last two years, according to her daughter. She was outgoing and active and enjoyed surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding and volunteering at a farm once a week, Walker said.

She is also survived by a 2-year-old granddaughter.