Tatiana Sunshine Dugger

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Siskiyou County Sheriffs Department (CA)

Offense Location:

Weed, CA

Summary:

Tatiana Sunshine Dugger, 18, of Oroville, was reported missing to Oakland police by her family on January 9, 2021, after she stopped answering her phone while staying at a hotel in Oakland. On March 28, 2021, a hiker found her remains on U.S. Forest Service land near Highway 97 northeast of Weed in Siskiyou County; DNA confirmed her identity. Oakland police treat her death as a homicide, and in 2026 the FBI said the case may be linked to two other missing women and to human trafficking.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Tatiana Sunshine Dugger grew up in Oroville, in Butte County, and had recently moved to the Los Angeles area. On New Year's Eve 2020 she left Oroville and drove to Oakland with a man her family did not know; the two stayed at the Westwind Lodge on West MacArthur Boulevard near Broadway. Her mother last spoke with her for about an hour on Thursday, January 7, 2021, and said everything seemed fine. After that, her phone went straight to voicemail and her social media went quiet, which her family said was completely unlike her. Her family reported her missing to the Oakland Police Department on Saturday, January 9, 2021. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office lists January 8, 2021 as the date she was last seen and says she had been staying at a hotel in East Oakland. Security camera footage from 15th Avenue and International Boulevard showed a person believed to be Tatiana getting into a white pickup truck. Her sister told KTVU that Tatiana had been seen near a store at 21st Avenue and International Boulevard at about 2 a.m. on January 9. Oakland police carried out a welfare check at the motel and reported no sign of a kidnapping or foul play. Because her family lived in Butte County, the Butte County Sheriff's Office took over the missing-person investigation. Her Honda Accord was later found in the Sacramento area; her phone and other belongings were not recovered. Oakland police searched Wood Park with dogs and Alameda County sheriff's deputies searched it with a drone. Phone records placed her last known location in Oakland. On Sunday, March 28, 2021, at about 11:45 a.m., a hiker reported a deceased person on U.S. Forest Service land near U.S. Route 97 and Juniper Terrace, about eight miles northeast of Weed in Siskiyou County. The remains were in a remote area off the roadway and appeared to have been there for an extended period. Siskiyou County Sheriff's detectives, U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officers, the California Highway Patrol and California Department of Justice personnel responded. An autopsy was performed on Thursday, April 1, 2021, with Butte County detectives joining the Siskiyou County Major Crimes Unit, and on Friday, April 2, 2021, a rapid DNA process positively identified the remains as Tatiana's. The Sheriff's Office said the investigation was ongoing and that additional circumstances surrounding her death would not be released. No cause of death has been made public. On June 3, 2021, Crime Stoppers of Oakland and the Oakland Police Department announced a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible, describing the case as a homicide. Investigators said they believed Tatiana had been groomed by human traffickers and was a victim of sexual exploitation. The reward was repeated on Human Trafficking Awareness Day, January 11, 2022. In February 2026 the FBI told the families of Tatiana, 17-year-old Morgan Crenshaw of Antioch (missing since October 2025) and Heaven McGee of Stockton (missing since January 2025) that the three cases may be linked to one another and to human trafficking. FBI Special Agent Marty Parker said Tatiana had disappeared from the corner of 15th Avenue and International Boulevard, and that few people have a reason to be in both Oakland and the middle of Siskiyou County other than someone travelling through to Oregon. The FBI is working with Oakland and Antioch police and the Butte County Sheriff's Office; the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office lists Tatiana's death as a cold case. No arrest has been publicly reported.

Additional Details:

Crime Stoppers of Oakland and the Oakland Police Department offer a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible. Tips: Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office 24-hour dispatch (530) 841-2900 or the anonymous tip form on the Unsolved Siskiyou website; Oakland Police Department; Butte County Sheriff's Office detectives (530) 538-7671; FBI 1-800-CALL-FBI (tips.fbi.gov).

Case Last Updated:

Oct 23, 2026