BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Bakersfield woman is still searching for answers five years after her brother was found dead, burned up in his car several miles away from his home.
“Someone out there knows what happened,” said Rita Olsen.
Olsen is the younger sister of 68-year-old Charles Prunty, who was reported missing from Bakersfield in 2022.
She said he was last seen on surveillance at the Valley Strong Credit Union on Chester Avenue. But a year later, two agents showed up at Olsen’s door and told her something that still haunts her.
“They broke the news and told me that they found my brother,” Olsen said. “And they found his truck in a remote area, in Vandenberg. And it had been burned. And my brother was it.”
Prunty was found just north of Vandenberg Space Force Base with clear signs that he had been there for at least a year. Olsen said she knew something wasn’t right when her brother first went missing, but she doesn’t feel like law enforcement took her family’s report as seriously as they should have.
“They disappointed me. They really did, and I’m sorry to say that,” Olsen said. “But, they need to have more heart when it comes to loved ones that are missing.”
The investigation was first handled by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, but was handed over to Vandenberg Space Force.
17 News reached out for an update but did not receive a response.
“I just kind of feel like because he was an old man – missing – he’ll just come home sooner or later,” Olsen said.
Now, Olsen hopes that the community will come together and provide information needed to warm up this now, cold case. She’s been working with Kern Secret Witness for help.
“I would encourage them not to give up hope,” said Nathan McCauley, president of Kern Secret Witness. “It’s never too late. And we’ve solved cases that are far older than five years in the past. And we’ll do what we can to find out answers for this case as well.”
Olsen said this process has not been easy, and she misses her older brother dearly, but she won’t stop until she finds out what happened to him.
“I don’t want anyone to go through what I’m going through,” Olsen said. “I don’t sleep at night. I close my eyes – my brother comes to my mind. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in five years.”
Anyone with information on this case can call Kern Secret Witness at 661-322-4040.
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