In 2014, She Vanished From Alaska In The Middle Of The Night, And Her Purse Was Later Found Buried In The Snow Along A Hiking Trail
After Jael Tiara Hamblen was born in Washington state on July 28, 1994, her first 14 months of life were spent in foster care.
Jael had been diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder following birth– which ultimately resulted in developmental delays.
And after her parents got divorced, Jael primarily lived in Wasilla, Alaska– even though she did spend time with her father in Washington following her parents’ split.
By the time Jael reached teenhood, her mother had recalled how she started to rebel. This culminated in Jael eventually dropping out of high school. Then, at the age of 17, she even ran away for the first time.
Then, once Jael was 20-years-old, she had a baby boy. Her loved ones believed she would never abandon her infant son, though, which is why Jael’s strange disappearance has remained so puzzling.
It all began on October 11, 2014, when Jael and her roommate, Kendra Estrada, visited TGI Friday’s to eat dinner. Following the meal, the pair returned home just before 10:00 p.m.
At the same time, Kendra’s mother had been watching both Kendra’s kids and Jael’s son.
After returning home, Jael reportedly did consider heading out again. However, Kendra opted to go to bed, leaving Jael upset– because apparently, she was interested in a man who had rejected her.
This pushed Jael to text a male friend at 1:40 a.m. Within the message, she detailed how she had been crying and wanted to meet up with him.
Facebook – pictured above is Jael
Later, Jael also texted a different man just after 3:00 a.m. That was the last time anyone ever heard from her.
Once Kendra woke up the next morning at about 10:30 a.m., she messaged Jael to make plans to see a movie together. However, her text went unanswered.
So, at 12:00 p.m., Kendra decided to knock on Jael’s bedroom door. But Kendra again received no answer– which pushed her to enter the room.
At that point, Kendra realized that the bed had been left unmade and discovered Jael was missing.
Initially, though, Kendra assumed that Jael had left at some point the evening prior and decided to stay out that night. But, as time went on and Kendra continued having issues getting into contact with Jael, she started to worry.
Kendra’s concerns especially heightened after realizing that all of her calls to Jael’s phone were going straight to voicemail.
So, Kendra got in touch with Jael’s mother. Then, Jael’s mom reported her daughter missing on October 14, 2014, to the Anchorage Police Department.
While Jael disappeared along with her purse and cell phone, her car– a 1998 Ford Expedition– had been left parked in her driveway.
Investigators were able to analyze Jael’s phone records, which revealed that none of the text messages sent by Kendra on October 12 had gone through. This indicated that either Jael’s phone had been turned off or her device’s battery died.
Then, about five months after Jael vanished, a group hiking on a trail located in Chugiak, Alaska, contacted the police in March 2015. During their hike, Jael’s purse was found buried in the snow containing both her cell phone and social security card.
Following this discovery, authorities did not think Jael had left the purse there herself– particularly because she was not interested in hiking. Plus, on the night she disappeared, the temperature outside had been below freezing.
Still, the exact circumstances surrounding Jael’s disappearance have never been determined. So, her case currently has an “endangered missing” classification– even though authorities have investigated her disappearance as a possible homicide.
At the time she vanished, Jael was five foot four, weighed about 175 pounds, and had brown hair and green eyes. Shortly before she disappeared, Jael had dyed her hair pink. She also had a strawberry birthmark above her neckline and had pierced ears.
If you have any information regarding Jael’s disappearance, you are urged to contact the Anchorage Police Department at (907) 786-2681.
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