BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A simple voice message has become a lifeline for Ana Maria Leal Ochoa as she marks another year without her mother, Ana Barbosa.
Family said Ana Lorena Barbosa was last seen on Monday, May 6th on Norris Road in Oildale. PHOTO: Family
Ochoa said she replays the message because it makes her feel closer to her mother and because she fears forgetting her.
“Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but I don’t want to forget her. There’s a certain, when a loved one, when you don’t have a loved one around anymore, you will have that fear that I don’t want to forget. You know, I don’t want to forget the memories. I want to forget her voice,” Ochoa said.
In the message, Barbosa tells her daughter to be strong and take care of herself.
Family said Ana Lorena Barbosa was last seen on Monday, May 6th on Norris Road in Oildale. PHOTO: Family
Ochoa said that strength is something she has needed daily since her mother disappeared, especially during a stretch of family milestones that now feel heavy without her.
“It’s painful not to have her around, especially during these dates, you know, right now, because her birthday just passed. Mother’s Day is on the way. My sister’s birthday just passed. My grandmother’s birthday just passed. So it’s like everything just piles up right around now, this time of the year,” Ochoa said.
Family said Ana Lorena Barbosa was last seen on Monday, May 6th on Norris Road in Oildale. PHOTO: Family
Ochoa said the last time she saw her mother was Sunday, May 5 2024, at a flea market at the Kern County Museum. She said she bumped into her mother while looking at antiques and heard her voice behind her.
“I heard her voice behind me go, I’ll buy it for you, mamas,” Ochoa said, adding that her mother loved and collected antiques.
Ochoa said she hugged her mother and walked around for a bit.
“That is the last time I saw my mom,” she said.
Ochoa said her mother was shopping with her husband, Fabian Ochoa, though she did not see him at the time.
She said she remembered thinking, “I wonder where he is,” because she didn’t see him and he didn’t say hello.
Two days later, he reported her missing.
According to documents, Barbosa’s husband initially cooperated with investigators and told them the two had argued at his business, Corner Shop Automotive Services, the day she disappeared.
Two days after Eyewitness News spoke with Ana Barbosa’s family, our news crew saw Kern County Sheriff cruisers and Kern County District Attorney’s forensic science division vehicles outside the car shop where she was reportedly last seen. PHOTO: KBAK/KBFX
The documents say he claimed Barbosa left the business and planned to take an Uber home, and that he ordered the ride for her.
But those same court documents state investigators found no record of an Uber request being made from his phone that day.
Ochoa said she believes key parts of what happened to her mother remain unclear.
She said it would not be normal for Barbosa to go even a few days without contacting family, and she questioned the idea that her mother would walk away and never reach out.
“I want to really emphasize that this is not normal behavior. This is not right,” Ochoa said.
She also said there has been no activity on her mother’s credit cards, debit cards, or Facebook since she disappeared, and no signs she has been spotted.
Family said Ana Lorena Barbosa was last seen on Monday, May 6th on Norris Road in Oildale. PHOTO: Family
“Everything we do in life leaves kind of like a foot, like a little footprint, you know?” Ochoa said.
Ochoa said the uncertainty has taken a toll.
“This is torture,” she said. “2 years of anxiety attacks, panic attacks, and thinking the worst. This is not a way to live. You know, I want answers, even if, like I said, even if it’s not the happy ending that I want, I still deserve. I deserve to know what happened to my mom. The whole truth.”
Ochoa said there have been new details in the case, but she has been advised not to discuss them publicly.
She said those developments, and assurances from law enforcement that the case remains active, have helped her hold on to hope that the investigation will not go cold.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Kern County Sheriff’s Office or Secret Witness. A reward for information in the case remains available.