WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KRON) — A Walnut Creek mother who was reported missing in June 2020 has been found dead in a Southern California desert.

Erika Ashley Lloyd’s skeletal remains were discovered in a desert field near the 5200 block of Danby Road in Wonder Valley on Jan. 31, 2021. The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department confirmed it was Lloyd on Friday.

Authorities say she was identified using her dental records, but at this time they do not know how she died.

The 37-year-old mother last spoke to her family on June 14, 2020. “She sounded like she was driving. She was speaking very rapidly. It was just hard to make out exactly what she was saying,” Lloyd’s mother told KRON4 in an interview in August.

Two days later, California Highway Patrol found her abandoned Honda Accord 19 miles outside Joshua Tree Village on Shelton Road.

“There was damage to the front end along with the windshield and back window. So it looked like it might have been involved in a traffic collision. There were items still in the vehicle. It didn’t look like any items were taken out of the vehicle,” Office Casey Simmons said. 

Following Lloyd’s disappearance, authorities said they had conducted “numerous” search operations over months before the human remains were reported.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Michael Gardea, Specialized Investigations Division – Homicide Detail at (909)387-3589. Callers can remain anonymous and contact WeTip at 800-78CRIME or www.wetip.com.