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Remains of woman missing 4 years found
No cause of death has been established for Cindy Casteel Mathieu, 42, of Anaheim.
By GREG HARDESTY and SERENA MARIA DANIELS
The Orange County Register
Comments 80| Recommend 12ANAHEIM – Skeletal remains found near Silverado Canyon last September are those of a mother of three who vanished from her apartment nearly four years ago, police said Thursday.The coroner has not been able to establish a cause of death for Cindy Casteel Mathieu, 42, and police have found no evidence of foul play – although her family continues to suspect her death was not accidental."We've been grieving on and off for nearly four years, but we always knew this would be the outcome," sister Kim Gogos, 49, of Pinon Hills, said at the Anaheim Police Department Thursday, where family members met with investigators."Now we have to focus on finding justice for her," Gogos said.Casteel Mathieu's nephew, Christopher Gogos, 31, of Pinon Hills, got a tattoo of his aunt's name on his left wrist about a year after her disappearance.He said at this point he is more angry than sad."I just can't believe it's been almost four years. It will be four years exactly next week," Gogos said.Casteel Mathieu was last seen by her husband, Donald Mathieu, walking up the stairs inside their apartment after a family pool party on Aug. 14, 2004. Anaheim police said Thursday he remains a "person of interest" in the case, but they have not been able to locate him.Casteel Mathieu, a customer service representative for the city's utilities department, had been drinking and the couple had been arguing that day, Donald Mathieu told police after reporting his wife's disappearance on Aug. 16.Donald Mathieu told police when he woke up the next morning his wife was gone, leaving behind her wallet, purse and ID – and presumably wearing only the hot-pink bathing suit she had fallen asleep wearing.When some human bones were discovered in the area of Santiago Canyon Road near Silverado Canyon Road in September, authorities returned a few days later and found more remains – which possibly had been scattered by rains.The remains were identified as Cindy Casteel Mathieu a few weeks ago in July, but authorities were not able to locate Donald Mathieu – her next of kin. Casteel Mathieu's daughter, Sarah Originales, 26, of La Mirada, later was notified and the family went public with the story Thursday.Originales still has the newspaper articles about her mom's disappearance in the trunk of her car. She was pregnant with her son Adam, now 3, when her mother was reported missing.Now, Originales has a 1-year-old daughter, Cynthia Nevaeh – heaven spelled backwards, named in honor of her mother."We hope for the answers, what really happened," Originales said. "That's all you can ask for. I mean, everybody wants the truth."Casteel Mathieu, a graduate of La Mirada High School, has two other children: Kalani Casteel, 22, also of La Mirada and Sam Mathieu, 10 – her son with Donald Mathieu. She also has three grand-children.Sam Mathieu has been a ward of the court since his mother's disappearance.Although expressing relief that her remains have been found, relatives and close friends of Casteel Mathieu said they still believe foul play was involved."I find it impossible to imagine that she wandered off into a trashed creek bed on her own, covered herself up with leaves, and died," said Casteel Mathieu's former husband, Jason Casteel."She would never abandon her kids or her job. We all know that … the whole thing just sounds hinky," Jason Casteel said.Jason Casteel, 45, of Anaheim, had been involved in the search from the start, organizing candlelight vigils for his ex-wife.In a brief telephone interview with the Register shortly after his wife's disappearance, Donald Mathieu, at that time an unemployed construction worker, said he had no idea what happened to his wife."We're still in the dark, just waiting and praying," he told the Register.Police, while acknowledging that her disappearance was suspicious and unusual, said they had no reason to doubt Donald Mathieu's story. He never has been a suspect in her disappearance.When he was living in Texas in 1992 and married to another woman, Donald Mathieu was arrested on suspicion of family violence and assault after he stuck a rifle under his wife's throat and threatened to shoot her. She later decided to not pursue charges and a temporary restraining order against him was lifted.In December 2004, Donald Mathieu was arrested for a misdemeanor charge of causing corporal injury on a child, in an incident involving his then 7-year-old son. That charge was dismissed in March 2005, but Mathieu pleaded guity to misdemeanor disturbing the peace stemming from the same incident, court records show.He was sentenced to one year of informal probation and six days in jail, but that probation status was revoked in October 2005 and his status is listed as "fugitive" and there is a warrant out for his arrest, according to court records.Kim Gogos, meanwhile, said that the family will have a memorial service Tuesday at Maxwell Park in Anaheim for Cindy Casteel Mathieu. Information about the service will be made available once the family has confirmed details. plain layout powered by HOT FreeLayouts.com / MyHotComments
