Going West: True Crime - Cajairah Fraise // 374

Episode Date: January 20, 2024

In February of 2023, a 22-year-old pregnant woman headed to a California drive-thru with her parents late one night, weeks before her due date. When they arrived, she asked to step out of the car to get some air, and was never seen again. With no hospital records recording the birth of her child, police and her family can only fear the worst. But what really happened to her? This is the story of Cajairah Fraise. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 Patreon: patreon.com/goingwestpodcast CASE SOURCES 1. Finding Cajairah: https://www.facebook.com/groups/227742849802187/ 2. ABC7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVTezeOk948 3. Press Release: https://kesq.b-cdn.net/2023/03/Response-to-Press-Release.pdf 4. ABC7: https://abc7.com/cajairah-fraise-missing-pregnant-woman-beaumont-police-department-women/13438112/ 5. KESQ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz_LwcLKSrI 6. Beaumont Police Press Release: https://www.beaumontpd.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=979 7. Disappeared: https://disappearedblog.com/cajairah-fraise/ 8. KESQ: https://kesq.com/top-stories/2023/03/27/family-disputes-police-information-in-beaumont-missing-pregnant-woman-case/ 9. NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/missing-in-america/mother-praying-safe-return-disappearance-8-months-pregnant-california-rcna121986 10. GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/Cajairah 11. Bitter Cup Media interview with Sara Verner: https://www.facebook.com/bittercupmedia/videos/272401151803100 12. ABC7: https://abc7.com/beaumont-missing-pregnant-woman-cajairah-fraise-highway-79/13005610/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on True Crime fans? I'm your host Teef. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody, happy almost weekend. Today's case was recommended by Amber and I think it's Alina because of the Y, so I hope that's correct. Thank you both so much for recommending this one. This case only took place a year ago and it is just brewing with questions, so make sure you listen up and share this one. Yeah, this case is so strange and if you want to see pictures and photos from this case and all the other cases that we've covered,

go check out our socials. We're on Instagram at GoingWestPodcast, on Twitter at GoingWestPod, and we're also on Facebook. All right guys, without further ado, this is episode 374 of GoingWest. So let's get into it. questions like where's the data going? Is it secure? Are you sure? Are you sure you're sure? Get answers you can trust from Salesforce at AskMoreVai.com.

I feel motivated. I feel capable. I feel included. Resilient. At ease. I feel strong. I feel confident. These are just a few of the things you'll hear our members say when you join the YMCA. The Y is not like other gyms, and not all benefits of being a member are visible, but you'll surely feel them. Try the Y-Free for seven days, and feel how the Y is way more than just a gym. Learn more at trytheY.ca Police in Beaumont continue to search for a pregnant woman who's been reported missing for over a month. What happened to Gujarra Fraze?

It's a mystery that continues to puzzle the Boma Police Department and especially her family. The 22-year-old was last seen on February 23rd after she got out of her family's car, added jacket-a-box for some air. I pulled up, we looked at her, she was looking at us, she looked back at us, everything was fine. And so then we finished paying for our food less than a minute later, this our daughter is banished. This photo taken from a nearby charter school shows Frasé walking in the area her parents say at the time their daughter was nine months pregnant due to the liver of baby boy on March 29.

And Cajera Frasé went missing on February 23rd she was nine months pregnant at the time and would have already given birth by now. Police have categorized her as critically missing, but advocates say there has not been enough done. She didn't have an ID, she didn't have a credit card, she didn't have any money, they knew she had none of her belongings, how could she about run your car?

35 weeks pregnant in the rain. Something doesn't make sense. Could Jera J. Frase was born on January 14, 2001 to parents Kara, who goes by K, and her father Jamel. She is the youngest of three siblings, joining Janice and Jamel Jr. or JJ. According to their mom, K, quote, her and her brother and sister are like three peas in a pod. They have been best friends with each other their whole life. She received a lot of love from everyone in the family. She was a best friend to each of us.

She is a loving, kind, genuine person. Kajera grew up in Southern California and attended Beaumont High School in Beaumont, California, which is about an hour and a half east of Los Angeles. Beaumont is nestled in the Inland Empire just outside of the San Bernardino National Forest and home to about 55,000 people. It's situated in Riverside County.

While attending Beaumont High School, Cajera was a prominent member of her school's track and field team, so she loved being active and running. In early 2023, 22-year-old Cajera was living with her parents in Moreno Valley, California, which is just about a 20-minute drive west of her hometown of Beaumont. Now, very little is known about her private and family life, including her work life and relationships, except that, after graduating high school, her family relocated to Moreno

Valley and Kajera moved with them. Sadly, right down to the pronunciation of her name, although we know it's Kajera because that's how her family says it in an interview, discrepancies and misinformation have plagued this strange case. But February 2023 was a time of excitement and change for Kajera, as she was 35 weeks pregnant with a baby boy, due on March 29, 2023. Her mom K remembers that, although the pregnancy came as a surprise to Kajera, she was thrilled and was, quote, the kind of person who would be a great mother. Kay recalled, quote, she was just completely excited and shocked.

She couldn't believe it. Just the thought of a baby growing inside you. But the name of the baby's father has never been mentioned by her family or anybody else, nor has he chosen to come forward, and the nature of Kajera's relationship with him has remained a mystery. And it appears as if he was not in the picture at all, and that Kajera was planning on raising her baby at home with her parents as a single mom. So on Thursday, February 23rd, 2023, just a month away from Cajera's due date, she and Kay were spending the day indulging at the spa together before running some errands.

Kay remembered, quote, we were at the gym earlier having a spa day. We went to like two or three appointments or things that she would need for the baby so we were just running errands. That evening, the two planned to visit Kay's mother, so Cajera's grandmother, at her home in Beaumont. And they were joined by Cajera's dad, Jamel. Kay explained, quote, I'd called my husband to come and drive us. I wasn't feeling well, so he came, met us, and then he started driving us.

Later in that evening, at that point, Cajera told her parents that she was hungry, so the three pulled over to a jack-in-the-box drive-through, famous for its tacos and burgers, located at 89 Beaumont Avenue in Beaumont. Now, it's unknown why they were headed to Kays' mother's house so late that night, and whether or not they were planning on staying over, but this is where the accounts of that evening start to become a little bit fuzzy. Kajera's parents Kay and Jamel claim that their daughter mentioned quote, needing air while they were waiting in the drive-through line, and that she stepped out of the car for a breather.

Now Kay recalled quote, she got out of the car, she wasn't saying much. So they're saying that while they are driving through the drive-through, she gets out of the car, which is a weird time to get out of the car. It's not like, oh, she's gonna wait for the food, and afterwards she's gonna say, let's walk her on the parking lot. They're in the middle of the drive-through according to her parents, and she steps out. Right, not a very convenient time, but I mean I do suppose I understand if she's very pregnant at this point.

Yes. She needs a little bit of air, but we're gonna get into the temperatures that night and it was not a very warm night at all. So neither of her parents claimed that they knew exactly what was wrong with her or what was going on, so later speculation loomed that the three had actually became embroiled in like this heated argument, and that Cajera forcibly removed herself from the situation by getting out of the car. But whether this was based on actual accounts shared by those who spoke to her parents,

or whether it was simply conjectured by curious commenters, is unfortunately unknown. 22-year-old Kajera was last spotted by her parents at 10.39 p.m. that evening, still in the vicinity of the family's car. Based on her parent statements, it seems as if they put their order in when Kajera was still in the car and that she got out before they paid and received their food. Her father, Jamel, said, quote, I pulled up, I looked at her, she was looking at us,

she looked back at us, everything was fine. So we finished paying for our food. Less than a minute later, our daughter is vanished. They recalled there be willedermant at how quickly Cajera walk away without any indication of where she was headed. So, they drove around the parking lot before circling the vicinity of the restaurant, but eerily, they found no trace of her. Aside from the fact that she was over eight months pregnant, Kay said that they had many

reasons to be concerned about their daughter walking off by herself into the night. Because as Heath just touched on, that day was a very rare and bitter one for Southern California with a high of 38 degrees Fahrenheit or 3 degrees Celsius and a low of just 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius. Yeah, so very, very cold at this point. Yeah, like it even snowed later that night in some areas nearby which again super super rare So Kajera who was clad in just sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt a shawl and slip on shoes would not have been comfortable walking very far On her person she had no credit cards no money

identification or even her phone, because she left the car with only her Bible, which was never found. And why she left the car with her Bible and not her other belongings was also just super strange. So it's unclear why she took this with her if she was only stepping out of the car for a brief moment, but her mom K also worries about her daughter's health. Claiming she believes her daughter had been suffering from quote, a medical emergency,

but she never elaborated what she thought that was. Like was it a mental health emergency? Was she injured? Like we have no idea what that means. Kay also claims her daughter has what she described as quote, several medical needs and intolerances, and that she was not known to stray far from home for this reason. According to the family's retelling, they drove around looking for

Kajera for an hour, and then they called the police who arrived on the scene in the early morning hours of Friday, February 24, 2023. And this began the dissonance between the Fraze family and the Beaumont police department, which still seems to exist today a year later. According to Cajera's parents, after taking their statements and performing a curse research of the area immediately surrounding this Jack

in the box drive through, police informed them that as a 22 yearyear-old woman, she would be classified as voluntarily missing, despite the very bizarre circumstances as well as being eight months pregnant. Her family, of course, found this completely absurd, and K maintains that Kajera was not looking to escape the life that she was building for herself and her baby, saying, quote, we had so many plans together together and she was so excited about having the baby. Jamel added that police didn't start actively looking for Kajara until weeks after her disappearance, and that by then, too much critical time had passed.

He recalled, quote, they didn't share any information for almost two weeks, and we are going out there looking for her, trying to find her, asking and sending emails and by the time we get a response, it's almost two weeks later. Beaumont police didn't take Ajara's disappearance seriously until almost a month later due to growing pressure from the public and her family, but by then, they were unable to find any indication of where she had gone. And this is such a classic situation for a lot of adults who disappear as many of us know,

where the case isn't taken seriously until it's practically too late to investigate because of that argument of, oh, well, they're an adult and they can do whatever they want. But especially in this case, without a crime scene, even with technological advancements, it just felt impossible to know where she went and what happened to her because of this big delay. But speaking of technological advancements, this part is so frustrating, so all of the businesses

in the surrounding area had taped over their surveillance footage from the evening that Cajera went missing, including the Jack in the box that she disappeared from. Because remember, it was a month later. So nobody's keeping their tapes that long. People are recording over them. You know, a lot of people don't store this kind of footage. Right. So if the police had looked into this, you know, less than a month beforehand,

they might have been able to get their hands on that footage and seen exactly what happened there. Well, imagine if they tried to get it immediately, like, who knows what they would have uncovered. So I want to describe this area a bit. So the Jack in the Box is surrounded by a gas station, a convenience store, and a car wash on one side, and then a subway restaurant and a high school on the other side. The Jag in the box is situated on the corner of Beaumont and East First Street, and then heading north would land you in downtown Beaumont, passing innumerable stores and businesses. But heading south leads to the rugged and mountainous open space of the

San Jacinto wildlife area. And in fact, the the strip of storefronts that contains the Jack in the Box is the last string of businesses before Beaumont Avenue turns into Highway 79, which leads south to Hemit, cutting through a rural stretch of wilderness. So basically this storefronts are on the edge of town, essentially. And then when you're leaving town, you hit Highway 79, and then it just becomes rural as fuck. Yeah, so that was not a good spot for this to happen in,

because as we're going to talk about which direction she's headed in, there's a highway right there, which means that she could have been picked up, she could have gone into the wildlife area, like this is the part of town where there's a lot of these possibilities. And again, going in that direction, no surveillance cameras.

And of course, we will go ahead and include some photos and Google Street View snapshots of this area to give you guys a visual. Now the only evidence of Kajera that remained when the police finally went looking for it was surveillance footage from the high school which was the Mojave River Academy. And that is located next to the subway restaurant. So this footage captured Kajera walking south toward the San Jacinto wildlife area and away from the Jack in the Box. In her hands, she clutched nothing but her Bible.

So police conducted ground searches up and down Highway 79 between Beaumont and Hammett, as well as the area surrounding the Jack in the Box, but found no trace of Cajera. Search dogs were employed as well, and they couldn't track her either by the time they went out there. Police also combed through area hospitals and mental health institutions, as well as birth and death notices, extending as far as Nevada because they're wondering if there is any record of her dying, if there's any record of her going into a hospital somewhere in California or Nevada.

Right, like maybe... To get birth? Right, if she, you know, maybe was... Maybe her water had broke and she needed immediate medical attention or maybe something else happened and she needed immediate medical attention. So they're thinking we need to check every place that she could have went into to get some sort of medical help. But there was nothing which is really concerning because if there's no record of her giving

birth in a hospital, did she die before her due date Or did somebody have her, you know, like what, then what, then what happened? Because her due date was only one month away. So police announced that they still did not suspect foul play, because really there was no evidence to point to anything. But they were escalating her case from that of a voluntary missing person to a critical missing person believing that she at least was in some type of danger. Now from the very beginning, the same questions have plagued this case. Who is her baby's father, and was he involved in her disappearance?

Why has he not spoken up about the loss of Cajera and their baby? Why didn't Cajera take her phone or anything else with her when she stepped out of the car that night? And so many more questions. Online and on social media, most of the post about finding Kajera and missing person's advocacy are being made by concerned citizens who didn't even know her, with many wondering where her friends and loved ones are and why they haven't chosen to speak out about her strange disappearance. Though we will note, and we're gonna bring it up here

in a minute that her family has done a short interview explaining their outrage and their lack of information. But still, public opinion on her siblings and parents has basically soured significantly since the beginning of the investigation. Advocates of Cajeras have pointed out that her family waited until March 7, 2023, so nearly two weeks after she vanished to post a single missing person's flier. So many people were absolutely confused by this, because if you believe that the police

had bungled this case and waited too long to investigate, many family members in this position must investigate on their own. But that's not what happened here. And to be fair, there's no handbook on your daughter or child or sibling going missing. So it's possible that they just didn't know what the heck to do and how to go about it at all. But it's hard to know their perspective because they haven't shared it.

So people are just wondering what that was about and why they waited. Exactly. Well, as the case gained traction and concerned citizens both locally and online began to push for transparency and answers for Kajera, inconsistencies in her family's stories started to trickle out. K told the police that Kajera was unfamiliar with Beaumont, and that this concerned them

because she may not have known where she was walking. But Kajera graduated from Beaumont High School and had supposedly spent multiple years living there, and also on top of this, her grandmother, whom they were actually going to visit, also lived in Beaumont. But K maintains that her daughter has been abducted, saying, quote, and hopefully the baby, and hopefully they're taking care of her. [♪ Music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing Try Starbucks. Welcome back winter with the Starbucks drink in hand. Whether you've been waiting for a pistachio latte and pistachio cream cold brew, or are in the mood to shake things up with the new iced hazelnut O'Shaegin espresso. Need to cozy up with a tea latte?

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it's safe to do so. Be alert, be aware, and stay safe. So I first came to Edward Jones with a great deal of trepidation when I first met with my advisor, and I really was feeling vulnerable about what I would have to share. I was of course pleasantly surprised to find that there was absolutely no judgment and a lot of support. And when it was time to get serious, he really took my hand and helped me to do that. Edward Jones, we do money differently. Visit EdwardJones.ca-different. What's up Canada? after five long years,

the UFC is heading back up north for UFC 297 in Toronto. This is the first event back with Bud Light as the official beer sponsor of the UFC. We put together a bad **** card and it is going to be an electric night. As time wore on and the search efforts stalled, Kajera's family continued to be at odds with the police, with each party pointing fingers at the other. On June 29, 2023, so a few months after she disappeared and a few months after her due date as well, Beaumont police released the following statement, quote,

�We want to share with the community our continuing efforts to find Kajara Fraze, the 22-year-old woman last seen on the evening of February 23, 2023. We joined with many other voices asking that if anyone has information regarding Miss Frasé's disappearance, or where she might be located at this time, please contact the Beaumont Police Department. If Miss Frasé is able to let us know she is safe, which we hope is the case, please contact any law enforcement agency as we can work protectively with you to address and resolve concerns about your well-being. At the time of her disappearance, Miss Frase was 35 weeks pregnant, arriving with

her parents late in the evening at the Beaumont Avenue Jack in the box, well away from their home in Marino Valley, Miss Frase was last seen voluntarily walking away from her parents van shortly after their arrival, while her parents were in the Jack in the Box. In keeping with the age of Miss Frase and certain guidance by her mother, Miss Frase was ultimately placed into the missing and unidentified person section database the next day. That database shares pictures, physical characteristics, and other identifying information between

law enforcement agencies. During the initial period after her disappearance, detectives and officers promptly sought surveillance footage, conducted physical, helicopter, airplane, and drone searches, and investigated the events leading up to Miss Frase's disappearance. Her disappearance was publicized in media, social media, and other outreach efforts by our police department and other interested parties. All leads developed through those efforts were diligently investigated, with our dedicated detectives continuing to investigate any new lead. That includes checking hospital admissions to see if Miss Frase sought

medical care, particularly when her baby was due shortly after her disappearance, but there's no evidence she sought care from any hospital, urgent care, or other professional medical source. Given her due date and length of absence in mid-March 2023, Miss Frase's disappearance was upgraded from a voluntary missing person to a critical missing person. That is not an indication of criminal involvement, but a natural escalation in designation arising Miss Frasay's expected need for medical attention and the length of time since her disappearance. Since that designation, the police department has requested further sources and support

from other agencies. We have also personally met with the parents and their legal counsel, where additional information was sought, while we have also sought to be as responsive as possible to request for information from the family and other interested parties. Yet, as an active police investigation, that may ultimately result in a determination that criminal conduct was involved in her disappearance. We trust that all concerned understand that we cannot fully share all information and efforts undertaken in our effort to find Miss Frase.

All of us in the Beaumont Police Department and the city's leadership hope Miss Frase will soon be found safe, hopefully with a healthy baby. We wanted to briefly explain our efforts in this important investigation and ask for everyone's support of our investigative efforts. We also encourage all members of our community to engage in positive communications and broad outreach efforts, supporting our efforts by providing timely information, access, and support. Indications coming from the police that Cajeras parents were not doing enough to find their

missing daughter and unborn grandson led to harassment of the family and massive amounts of speculation that they were involved. The police statement also highlighted yet another inconsistency. Now Cajeras parents claimed that they had been in the car going through the drive-through of the Jack in the Box at the time of Cajera's disappearance. But the police statement contradicted this, saying that they were inside, which was impossible

because the Jack in the Box dining room actually closed at 10 p.m. that evening. Which is about 40 minutes before they got there. Right. So was this a shortcoming of the police? Or had the parents lied about this detail when they gave the police their statements? In an interview with ABC News, Kajera's dad, Jamel, bemoaned quote, all these, you know, unbelievable things that have been said,

that is what hinders us helping Cajera be found. So the family released their own press statement in response to the one printed by police, and it read QUOTE, When the family stopped at the jack in the box to use the restroom and get food, Cajera felt it was best for her to get some fresh air and get out of the car for her own mental health, as was common for her those days. The family was directed by other civilians that she had walked south, however her family did not see her and immediately called 911.

The Missing Persons report was requested on the night of February 23, 2023, when Officer Bacera responded to the call. The family was not made aware that Officer Bacera did not file the Missing Persons report since the call was made for a missing person, the officer was dispatched, and the family thought that the report was done. On February 24, 2023, Officer Perez called the mother to find out if they had found her and asked did they want to proceed with the missing person report. Her mother was confused because her mother knew that they had requested the missing person

report to be done last night by Officer Bacera. Officer Perez said that he would call Officer Bacera for the information. The family reached out to surrounding businesses to view video footage independently, but because of lack of support or sense of urgency from the Beaumont Police Department, it resulted in all video footage expiring in locating Kajera, except for the school's footage. Kajera's family was never provided the images of Kajera that were placed on social media of her walking behind the school. Her family discovered images online with the public.

Kajera's family provided detectives all information on social media posts, friends, cell phone records, phone numbers to family members, distributed her missing person flyer through social media with paid advertisements, placed flyers throughout the city of Beaumont on posts and inside local businesses, contacted hospitals daily, motels daily, and mental health hospitals. Additionally, Kajera's family searched by foot the fields behind the jack in the box with dogs, and manually posted flyers the same day that the search was conducted by the Beaumont Police Department

drones on March 7, 2023. Kajera's family searched the area by car many days and stood in front of local businesses giving out flyers. Beaumont did not put her into the national missing and unidentified person system or nameless because of their low sense of urgency. Beaumont Police Department's focus stayed between friends, family, and friends of family rather than any outside investigations. Cajera's family cooperated 100% with Beaumont detectives within their ability to do so. The family of Cajera Frase is demanding justice that the Beaumont Police Department hold a

live press conference for our missing daughter yes so this gave them the opportunity to say what they did you know but they they did say that much of their efforts took place a couple weeks after she went missing which you know there's still people criticizing the fact that they didn't start that sooner but they're saying well we thought police were handling it we reported her missing that night they didn't start that sooner, but they're saying, well, we thought police were handling it. We reported her missing that night.

We didn't know that it wasn't, the report wasn't actually filed until the next day and that they didn't start looking for a couple weeks because they weren't keeping us informed. So it does seem like there is this possibility that the family just didn't know what police were and were not doing and just trusted that they would handle it, you know? Yeah, yeah. And I totally get that and I can see it. I really can't see it from both sides because you think, you know, two weeks later, it's like they are admitting that they started looking in those fields the same day that police started looking in those fields and doing their drone searches.

So it's kind of hard to know exactly what's going on here. Well, and this just really raised a lot more questions because of the minor inconsistencies with police saying that she went missing while her parents were inside the restaurant and her parents saying that they were in the drive through and you know the the public is just kind of going wild with theories like could she have been walking along the highway in the dark and maybe been hit by a car and somebody loaded her into the car to cover up their own mistake?

You know, like maybe this was a hit and run. Others wonder if she had been fighting with her parents and that's why she got out of the car. And if maybe she decided to walk to her grandma's house and then something happened to her along the way. But then of course, other people thinking that her parents are at fault and that they're trying to cover their tracks

to avoid any kind of legal implications. Like, did they drive away an anger after they got into a fight? And then they couldn't find her in their worried that they're gonna get in trouble off that. Like, because we don't have the video footage, it's just their word against nobody's word. All we have is that Kajera was walking by the high school and that's all we know. And unfortunately, we really don't have any witnesses that were in that vicinity of the

Jack in the box to say, oh yeah, I did see her walking this way. Or yeah, I saw her get into an argument in a car and I saw her walk away frustrated or whatever. Well, I wish we knew how busy this road was because I don't know anything about Beaumont. Like I don't know how busy it is. We know it's a smaller city. So I can't imagine there was a ton of people out.

It was a Thursday and this is just a little, you know, I mean, maybe Subway is open and Jack in the boxes is it. It's not like this is a bustling shopping plaza and it's a Friday night and it's 7pm. Like, it's 11pm on a Thursday night and at the edge of town. Yeah, I totally get that. But if it is a small town and there's not very many businesses, you can imagine that maybe at least one person was at the subway or possibly maybe in the same line at the drive-through, but who knows. And that's what makes it more suspicious, too, is that nobody said, oh yeah, I saw her

get into a car, I saw her walking this way, there's nobody coming forward that we know of that's been released publicly, saying that they saw her, but based on how quickly that they said she vanished, it's very likely that she got into a car. Because otherwise as well, you would imagine if she just kept walking and walking and walking somebody would have seen her. Yeah, I mean, it's hard to miss, you know, a pregnant woman whose eight months pregnant walking on the side of the road if she had walked very far. So I agree they would be easy if she did get into a tiff to say, hey, just like, you know,

I need a ride somewhere or whatever. Yeah. So then then did somebody kind of take this opportunity to harm her or was there some kind of accident and heath, I'm just pulling it up right now. This is kind of this image of her so she's wearing light pants and a dark top her hair is up and she's clutching her bible so because she has light pants especially even though it is nighttime people would have spotted her yeah and the other tough thing here is that from that image that you just showed me you know it really it's hard to see any real expression on her face if she was upset or if she's smiling,

it's kind of hard to see. She's kind of looking down and we're going to post this photo, but she's walking across parking spaces. I don't see any parked cars in this image at all. She's walking on top of the spaces and then there's rain reflecting on the asphalt because again, this is February, it was really cold. So yeah, it is just really bizarre. The possibilities feel endless.

And yet another aspect that doesn't really add up in this story is Kajera's phone. Like her mom claims that her phone was misplaced that day and that she doesn't know where it is. But one of Kajera's most vocal advocates, Sarah Werner, claims that the picture of Kajera that was used on the official Beaumont police missing person's flier, wearing black and taken on her phone with a brown wall in the background, was actually taken at an LA fitness gym on the very day that she disappeared. So to give that picture to the police, K must have had access to her phone.

Or maybe Kajera sent her that picture that day, because sometimes you send a picture of yourself to your parents or your friends or whatever. That's a possibility. So that is possible, but we don't know. So then it makes you wonder if that didn't happen that her parents have her phone and aren't being truthful about it getting lost.

But then it also makes you wonder, what do you mean it got lost? How did it get lost that day? I know that does happen, but I don't know, it's weird. It's very weird. So obviously, many of wonder if there was like a dispute about the baby and they were disagreeing about how the baby was to be raised. Obviously, total speculation.

And then maybe either could Jera or her parents desired to give the baby was to be raised, obviously total speculation, and then maybe either could Jera or her parents, you know, desired to give the baby up for adoption, and the other party didn't want to, but who knows. There's also the strong possibility that an accident befell her, that in the heat of a conflict with her parents or whatever it was that compelled her to get out of that vehicle, she tripped or hurt herself and became unconscious in the freezing February night. But then where did she go from there? But also, locals were pretty quick to point out that a population of houseless individuals

resided under an overpass nearby, and that one of them may have threatened her or attempted to commit a robbery that went wrong, and that Cajero wound up getting hurt or killed. But again, this is just pure speculation from the public. Perhaps the most terrifying possible conclusion is that someone killed her in order to take her baby, and I know this thought is really, really horrifying, but it is something that we've seen before and something that's happened previously.

Well as the rumor mill churned more and more people weighed in on Kajera's peculiar disappearance and her family's kind of odd behavior. Supporters of Kajera's who push for answers and clarity from her parents begin getting threatened with legal action by the family for perpetuating hearsay. Now on one hand, obviously, it must be just heartbreaking and infuriating to be searching desperately for your missing family member,

especially one in a vulnerable position, only to have the public turn against you and blame you for their disappearance. But on the other hand, her family's behavior does beg some questions. And it's a really sticky situation because suspecting family in any case is tricky.

These are grieving people going through the unimaginable. Like people make mistakes, they look suspicious, but maybe they're not. But what about when they are? Like anybody is fair game because anybody assembling a parent, a spouse, a friend, or a stranger can be capable of violence or maybe accidental violence. So it's hard to know what to do when suspicion rises

because no one wants to hurt the families even more if they are innocent. But in all cases, the closed circle is ruled out first, and at this point, without more information about what happened to Cajera, no one can be ruled out. So it's a really tough and upsetting situation, and I just wanted to say that for anybody who feels like the questions for her family are a little bit harsh, because it also makes me uncomfortable, but there are some inconsistencies and everybody just wants to know what happened here. But one of the strangest things is something that we're gonna get into now.

So, Kajera's brother JJ also said some questionable things to critics of their family on social media, including Sarah Werner. In one comment that has since been deleted, Sarah claimed that JJ wrote to her, quote, found and are confused. Talking about I'm doing this for money, money won't keep my sister's heart pumping. Money won't help Kajera where she is. One thing we use the money for is to incentivize whoever has her to let us know is she's safe. You don't know what you're talking about. You want a story out of this. I'm telling you to leave my family alone and stop speaking on the situation You're reading the press release and other information you can get on the internet. I know what happened I damn sure won't explain that to you

Have a good day and stay off my mentions So yeah again, this, this is a claim, but it is weird to say I know what happened. And to, to kind of, again, if this is true, I don't know why Sarah would make this up. This is a long paragraph. I'm not saying that means that it couldn't have been made up, but if this is true, her brother is claiming to know what happened and kind of Making it seem like he knows that somebody has her. Yeah, insinuating like we need this money to be able to incentivize whoever has her to let us know that she's safe, which I totally get I understand that but it's like

Does anybody else know this? Do the police know this? And obviously because we don't know if this is a real common and we don't know the context of it because everything's been deleted, I imagine that the money conversation is maybe about the fundraiser that they have because on March 8th, 2023, the day after the search actually began

for Kajera, her mom created a GoFundMe account and the bio or the bio, the description, whatever you want to call it says this. Hi, my name is Kay, Kajera's mom. I'm creating a fun to cover one billboard advertising marketing to find Kajera, two, private investigator, or three, reward. Cajera was an endangered missing person. She was about nine months pregnant when she went missing. The baby is about eight months old now. Last scene in Beaumont, California on 2.23.23. We need your help to get the word out.

We need monthly donors to pay for monthly advertising so we can locate Kajera. I'm assuming she wrote that description months after creating this go fund me, but yeah, I don't know. It's weird. This comment is really weird if it's real and it just makes it seem like they know something about what happened to her and they're not sharing it.

One thing that's actually really stood out to me throughout this entire case that we've talked about so far is the fact that the family keeps using her as past tense. They keep saying was instead of is or something like that. I've heard it a couple times in this episode already, the fact that they have said was. And so I don't know if that's maybe just a slip up or something, but it does feel a little bit weird that it's like that. And it's just so hard. I feel so bad even talking about this because we don't know.

And again, with the fact that they're a family who has lost their daughter and don't know what happened to her, apparently if they really don't know what happened, it's so, it feels so terrible to say all these things, but I would just like to know more about that comment. But let's talk a little bit more about this money situation. So, a lot of people also claim that Kajera's mom seems more concerned about keeping the family's information from getting released, than she does about her daughter and unborn grandson being missing. Now some are also accusing the frasades of caring more about the money than about finding

their daughter, because K claimed that they would offer a $100,000 reward for information, but that it had an expiration date if no one came forward which I have never heard of before in a missing persons investigation like those just Usually exist forever. I've never heard about one having an expiration date I think I have one kind of does. I think I have before but but it's it's pretty rare I think well one member of their extended family took to Facebook to alleged that the family did not have that much money set aside for their reward. So they're saying they have $100,000 but they don't. And then this brings us back to the GoFundMe that I was just talking about. Because there is $100,000 goal on that, but the total to this day is only about $2,900.

Others on the Facebook group have posted screenshots of threats via text coming from Kajera's family, claiming that they know their addresses and where they are and raddling off names of family members as if to threaten their safety, so that is definitely a little concerning. But regarding the rest of the search for Kajera, the FBI confirmed that they have joined the search efforts for her case. Her disappearance has also caught the interest of the Doc Ellis Foundation, which is a non-profit missing persons organization which has vowed to amplify minority cases.

The founder of the Foundation claims that they seek to, quote, facilitate a stronger relationship between family and law enforcement. Another missing person's advocacy group, Missing Justice, has also taken interest in solving Kajera's case. Samantha Pots, who works with the organization, has been suspicious of Kajera's parents from the start, saying, quote, she just walks off, the family lets her walk off in that condition on the coldest night.

That's very alarming, it's very scary. She needs our help, she needs to be found. There's a lot of conflicting stories going on. The family is not working with the detectives. Detectives aren't working with the family. Which is it? Because we need to find her regardless of any situation that's going on. Samantha is also pushing for the family to take polygraph examinations in hopes of ruling

them out as suspects. Which shouldn't be a problem. I mean, I think if you're innocent, you should go through all the protocols so that they can move on from you and focus on the people who could be guilty. But we also, again, know that polygraph examinations are not completely reliable. In October of last year, the Beaumont Police processed a tip of a sighting of Cajera that was found to be untrue. The Beaumont Police Department issued a statement that the tip was thoroughly investigated and that the woman was suffering from a mental health

crisis, but that she was not Kajera. Though it is nearing a year since Kajera's disappearance, Kay is still hopeful that her daughter and grandson will be found safely, saying, quote, I'm waiting for you to knock on the door and come home. She wishes to tell Kajera, quote, I love you so you to knock on the door and come home. She wishes to tell Kajera, quote, I love you so much, I would do anything to hug you, laugh with you, dance with you, I won't give up finding you, I will fight for you, give all I have for you. Kajera is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and weighs 160 pounds.

She has black hair and brown eyes. On the night she disappeared, she was wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt, a black shawl, gray sweatpants, and black slip-on shoes. Cajera would now be 23 years old, and her son would be about 10 months old. If you have any information about the disappearance or whereabouts of Cajera Frase and her baby, please call the Beaumont Police Department at 951-769-8500 or you can email crime tips at to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode and on Tuesday we'll have an all new case for you guys to dive into. Let us know what you think about this case.

I know it's so hard to speculate when there aren't, or there isn't enough evidence to actually point to real facts, but you know, let's get the conversation going. Let's share her missing poster. Please check out that last photo of her that was seen, especially if you live in Southern California or the surrounding states. You know, we really want to share this case. It was a year ago, wasn't that long ago, but she deserves to be found, her case deserves to be closed, so please share and thanks for listening. Alright guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%

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