Account
Jan 24, 2026
Jan 24, 2026
Carmen
Maria Burhans Garcia
41
41
5'6 inches
210 lbs
White
Female
Carmen was last seen with her husband, Diego Garcia, and daughter, Barbara Burhans, in Los Angeles, California on March 15, 1982. They lived in a house on Division Street in the Glassell Park area, and Carmen's mother lived upstairs. That morning, Carmen's mother went downstairs and visited the family at breakfast. Carmen was crying, but her mother didn't ask her why. At about noon, Carmen, Diego and Barbara drove away in their brown 1977 Toyota Corolla. Carmen's mother never saw them again. They took nothing with them; they left behind luggage, clothes in the closets, dog food in the refrigerator, and the dog itself. On April 25, the family's car was found abandoned in a snowbank 500 feet down a gorge in the San Gabriel Mountains, off Route 2 near Big Pines, California. It was buried in five feet of snow and the top was crushed in. There was no blood inside the car and no evidence of foul play. That particular road had been closed since March 16, the day after the Garcia/Burhans family vanished. Police theorized the vehicle was either pushed down the mountain by someone trying to conceal it, or accidentally bumped off the roadside by a snowplow whose driver didn't notice it parked there. Diego is Carmen's second husband and Barbara's stepfather. There were rumors that Carmen, who had recently converted to Mormonism, was involved in a cult-type religion involving candles and live chicken sacrifice at the time of her disappearance, but this wasn't confirmed. Another theory was that Diego had gotten involved in a drug and/or gambling scheme and he and Carmen took Barbara and fled to the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida; this too could not be substantiated. Although there were reported sightings of Carmen after her disappearance, none were confirmed, and there were no sightings of Diego or Barbara. There has been no evidence of any of their whereabouts since March 1982.
Mar 15, 1982
Los Angeles
California
Los Angeles
9
Los Angeles Police Department
01/25/2026
