Arrest made in 1991 Cindy Wanner kidnapping and murder cold case

Advanced DNA testing and facial-recognition work finally moved Cindy Wanner’s case from a cold file to an arrest, with Placer County authorities taking 64-year-old James Lawhead Jr. into custody on Friday, April 24, 2026, in Bullhead City, Arizona. Sheriff Wayne Woo announced the breakthrough in Auburn on Monday, April 27, calling it the product of years of work by the Placer County Cold Case Unit. Lawhead will be extradited to Placer County to face charges in the 1991 kidnapping and murder of Wanner.

Wanner was 35 when she vanished on November 25, 1991, from her sister’s home in Granite Bay. Investigators said her 11-month-old baby was left crying in a high chair, while her shoes, coat and car remained at the residence, a detail that made clear how suddenly she disappeared. About three weeks later, her body was found in a remote wooded area near Foresthill, roughly 40 miles from where she was taken. Authorities say she was strangled to death.

Investigators say Lawhead had apparently dropped off documented records after 2005 and may have been living under a new identity. In Arizona, he was living under the name Vincent Reynolds when detectives located him. A search of the residence turned up firearms, cash and a burner phone. The case also widened beyond the original suspect: Lawhead’s 71-year-old sister, Terry Lawhead Steele, was arrested in South Carolina on Saturday, April 25, on an accessory charge, and detectives later served a search warrant at her San Clemente home on Sunday, April 26. Placer County says investigators found that Lawhead had been living in a home owned by Steele, even though she had told law enforcement several times over the years that she had not heard from her brother in more than 20 years.

The arrest lands in a county that has leaned heavily on forensic science to keep old cases alive. Placer County officials say the cold case foundation was created to help cover the cost of advanced testing, which can run upward of $50,000 per case. The county says it has more than 80 cold cases on the books, including homicides, missing persons and unidentified remains. For Wanner’s family, the arrest is the first major movement in 34 years, but the case still has a long road ahead as extradition, charging decisions and court proceedings unfold.