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Search continues for Shermantine victims’ remains
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A search for the remains of Cyndi Vanderheiden and other victims of convicted serial killer Wesley Shermantine and his late partner Loren Herzog continued Wednesday in Calaveras County. San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Les Garcia said resources from that department and the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department continue to be devoted to the effort. Letters from Shermantine, who remains on death row at San Quentin State Prison, have indicated Vanderheiden, who he is convicted of killing in 1998, is buried on or near property formerly owned by his family in San Andreas. As a result, investigators have centered their search efforts there. Shermantine also claimed victim Chevelle “Chevy” Wheeler is buried in that vicinity, with a December search proving futile.
Shermantine, 45, also was convicted of killing Wheeler, but claims Herzog, who committed suicide on Jan. 16 after more than a year out of prison on parole, is the one responsible for both deaths. Shermantine said he merely helped Herzog dispose of their remains. Most of the case against Herzog was thrown out in 2004 by an appeals court, but he subsequently agreed to plead guilty to the voluntary manslaughter of Vanderheiden. He served 12 years in prison before his parole. Garcia said no remains have yet been found, but that the media will be notified immediately if anything turns up. San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore halted a clandestine plan the week of Herzog’s death to bringShermantine out to sites in San Joaquin and Calaveras counties where he claims remains are buried. Moore, Calaveras County Sheriff Gary Kuntz and representatives from the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, FBI and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation met Jan. 20 to discuss the possibility of going forward with such a plan. Moore, Kuntz and San Joaquin District Attorney James Willet agreed to jointly write a formal letter to CDCR to request their assistance in returning Shermantine at that meeting. Garcia said Thursday the letter had been sent, but no official response had yet been received. Shermantine has largely corresponded with Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla and former FBI Special Agent Jeff Rinek in recent months. Garcia said both men were invited to the Jan. 20 meeting but he was advised that each declined to attend. Garcia said his department has asked both men to share any information they receive regarding the case. “They haven’t taken the sheriff up on that offer as of yet,” Garcia said. Messages left for Padilla and Rinek seeking comment Wednesday afternoon were not returned. |
