Remains of Missing Calif. Woman Found, More Than 1 Year After She Was Last Seen, as Her Loved Ones Seek Answers

Officials have uncovered the remains of a missing San Diego-area woman, last seen in late 2023, according to her family.

A press release from the San Diego Sheriff’s Office (SDSO) stated that investigators executed a search warrant on a Valley Center, Calif., property — roughly 40 miles northeast of San Diego — on July 16, “after receiving information related to an ongoing investigation.”

During the operation, officials were searching for 65-year-old Nadine Jett when they discovered “skeletal remains of a human body buried on the 20-acre property.”

On Thursday, Aug. 21, authorities confirmed through the Medical Examiner’s Office that the remains belonged to Jett.

“At this time, no arrests have been made,” the release noted. “Detectives with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office continue to pursue all leads and are working diligently to uncover the circumstances surrounding Ms. Jett’s death.”

According to reports from the San Diego Union-Tribune, FOX 5 and CBS 8, the 20-acre property was owned by Jett.

The 65-year-old spent nearly 30 years as a divorce and family law attorney before being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She also fostered several children, including Tiffany Lucci and her three identical quadruplet sisters.

Tiffany told local outlets that Jett was last seen by the sisters in December 2023, shortly after her cancer diagnosis.

Although the Sheriff’s Office did not specify when Jett was officially reported missing, the Lucci sisters and several close friends had raised concerns to local media about her absence.

According to the Union-Tribune and NBC San Diego, the sisters had been in contact with Jett’s caretaker, a man who was previously her foster son, as she battled cancer.

The sisters allege that the caretaker repeatedly claimed Jett was too ill to meet or speak with them. By the following Easter, he reportedly told them that Jett had passed away and had been cremated in Mexico.

Tiffany said she and deputies later visited the property, only to find it cleared out. A neighbor had previously written to the Valley Roadrunner about squatters living on the property.

The Lucci sisters also discovered that the Mexican consulate had no record of Jett’s cremation, and the caretaker refused to show them a death certificate. They reported Jett missing roughly a year ago.

“When she disappeared, we started to investigate,” Paris Lucci, another of Jett’s foster daughters, told NBC San Diego. “We reached out to neighbors. We reached out to anyone who lived at the ranch.”

Investigators were reportedly tipped off by a realtor working with the caretaker to sell the property, the sisters told NBC San Diego and FOX 5.

The realtor allegedly indicated that a house sale fell through because the caretaker repeatedly failed to provide a death certificate and would disappear for days at a time, according to NBC San Diego.

In July, police confirmed that a search of Jett’s property led to the discovery of human remains.

The four sisters are now seeking answers about Jett’s disappearance and death.

“My sisters and I were all crying, devastated, but it’s closure. Like, we finally got the closure we needed, but it’s still gonna be a fight, you know, to find out who did this and why did they do it,” Tiffany said, per CBS 8.

Tiffany described Jett as more than a foster mom: “We considered [Jett] as our mother, not our foster mom.”

Paris added, per NBC San Diego, “Nadine was just an amazing woman who just taught us right from wrong, always there for us, always at her basketball games, always at any kind of event we needed a mom to be at. She was a wonderful lady, and she’s made a mark in our life, and, you know, she fought for us, and what we’re doing now is we’re fighting for her.”

The SDSO is urging anyone with information about Jett to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.