Friends, Family Remember Dalene Carlson
ESCALON (CBS13) — Family and friends held a candlelight vigil for Dalene Carlson on Monday night.
The missing Stockton woman's remains were discovered near Lone Tree Road and Sexton Road in rural San Joaquin County, a few miles outside of Escalon, on Saturday. Stockton police confirmed the remains were Carlson's on Monday.
"I don't know what she could have ever done to deserve what she got," cousin Beth Baker said at the vigil. "Nobody deserves to be put in a field like she was trash. She was a human being with a family that loved her, friends that loved her."
Family friend Joe DeGravio is trying to make sense of the loss.
"It hit my heart," he said. "I searched and searched for her."
Carlson was last spotted at a Stockton bar and supermarket Aug. 7.
Security cameras captured Carlson at a grocery store with Jason Gilley. Later that night video surveillance at a south county gas station showed Gilley, but this time, Carlson wasn't on the tape.
Conflicting stories landed him behind bars, but a lack of evidence forced prosecutors to drop charges.
"He lied from the very beginning," said Carlson's aunt, Margaret Baker. "Why do you lie, unless you have something to hide?"
Police now hope the young woman's body will help tell the story of who killed her.
"We have her remains and we'll see what kind of help she can give us through the forensic analysis of her remains (as to) where the investigation might go from here," Officer Peter Smith said.
Closure can only come once family and friends not only find out who, but why.
"She was a good person," DeGravio said. "Nobody deserves this, nobody."
