UPDATE, 3/12/19 — The MCSO has put out this update concerning the search for the remains of Khadijah Britton on their Facebook page:
ORIGINAL
MENDOCINO Co., 3/11/19 — The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and Mendocino Search and Rescue are conducting a new search, in Covelo, this week for Khadijah Britton, who has been missing for over a year. The search this week will consist of draining a pond belonging to the Round Valley Indian Tribes, near where witnesses last saw the 23 year old woman.
The MCSO is requesting that anyone with information or tips about the case to contact the MCSO tip line at 707-234-2100 or the anonymous We Tip service at 1-800-732-7463; there is also an $85,000 reward for information that leads to Britton.
Britton was last seen in Covelo in February, 2018, allegedly being forced into a car at gunpoint by her former boyfriend Negie Fallis, who is currently in prison on firearm charges. Since Britton’s disappearance, there have been a number of large scale searches, most recently in January 2019, ongoing searches by community members, vigils, as well as multi-agency press conferences including the FBI.
According to Lt. Shannon Barney of the MCSO, their reasons for searching the pond are threefold: the pond is only about a quarter to half a mile distant from where she was last seen, at the time of her disappearance there had been rumors of her remains being disposed of in a pond, and during recent searches more than one cadaver-dog had shown interest in that specific pond.
The pond is about a third of an acre in size, and will take at least until tomorrow to drain so that that search can actively begin. Barney also pointed out that the MCSO has contacted the Round Valley Indian Tribes Council and has their assent. Once the pond has been fully drained searchers will enter with cadaver-dogs and begin to seek human remains.
Law enforcement continues encourage the public to come forward with information that might help find Britton, and a significant reward is being offered. The search for Britton has attracted support from across the country, with community members highlighting her case as similar to those of others in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement, including at a number of local Women’s Marches in January, but no charges have been brought related to her disappearance.
Here’s the post from the MCSO:
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office continues to seek any information related to Britton’s disappearance, and a significant reward is being offered for any information that helps find her: $85,000 for information leading to her, and an additional $25,000 for information leading to a conviction and arrest. Anyone with information about Britton should contact the MCSO tip line at (707) 463- 4086 or the tip line (707) 234-2100, or the anonymous WeTip service at 1-800-78-CRIME. You can read The Mendocino Voice’s complete coverage of Britton’s disappearance and Fallis’ legal proceedings here.