A Utahn says she believes hitchhiker was missing woman.

By Cimaron Neugebauer

| The Salt Lake Tribune

Police in California are hoping someone in Utah, the location of their last effective tip, may have information in the case of a missing person’s case gone cold.

In August 1993, Kristi Krebs, who was 22, left her job at a pizza place in Fort Bragg, Calif., and never made it home. A few days later, police found her car at a nearby wilderness area. Inside the car were her wet folded-up work clothes and blood stains.

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Police, who believe Krebs may have suffered a mental breakdown, have had several leads over the past 18 years, but none have led to Krebs, who would now be 41.

"We have never been able to locate her body, nothing," Fort Bragg police officer Jeanine Gregory told The Tribune on Friday.

But there have been reports of sightings of the woman in several states, including Utah.

"We are just hoping this new flier and photo might generate a [new] tip," Gregory said. "The family still holds hope."

In 1994, a woman living in the Salt Lake area called authorities to say she believed she gave Krebs a ride.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told police she saw a woman hitchhiking near the intersection of Interstate 80 and another major highway, Gregory said. The woman felt Krebs was standing in a dangerous spot on the road, so she waved her to get into the car and dropped her near a McDonald’s in Salt Lake City.

The woman, who still lives in the Salt Lake area, didn’t think anything of the encounter until she saw Krebs’ photo on a flier at a truck stop several months later.

The woman called authorities in California, describing the hitchhiker’s gym clothes and things said during the 25-minute drive — details that led police to believe the hitchhiker was Krebs.

Gregory said if somebody in Utah didn’t recognize the earlier picture of Krebs, a new computer-enhanced, age-progression photo might help. Gregory said police continue to actively investigate leads in the case. Most of the recent sightings are from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Anyone with any information can contact the Fort Bragg Police Department at 707-961-2800, or a Fort Bragg Police confidential-anonymous phone number of 707-961-3049.

cimaron@sltrib.com Twitter: @CimCity