Case No. DHF-083 | Subject: Elena "Rae" Kazanes, 40, found dead of gunshot wounds in a remote desert area of Lake Los Angeles, California, on Thursday 19 February 2026; a $10,000 reward was approved on Tuesday 10 November 2026 | Date: Thursday 19 February 2026 (body found); Tuesday 10 November 2026 (reward approved) | Location: Dirt access road about a mile east of 140th Street East at East Avenue E, Lake Los Angeles, California, USA | Status: UNSOLVED
Posted: 12 November 2026
Status stamp: UNSOLVED
Why this file is stamped UNSOLVED: The stamp records only the position as it stands on 12 November 2026. On Thursday 19 February 2026, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies found the body of Elena "Rae" Kazanes, 40, on a dirt access road in a remote desert area of Lake Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later determined that she died of gunshot wounds, and her death is a homicide. On Tuesday 10 November 2026, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identification, apprehension and conviction of those responsible. No arrest has been announced, no suspect has been publicly identified, and no motive has been stated. The stamp is not a verdict. If the case moves — an arrest, a charge, a suspect identified, or any further official statement — this file will be updated, dated, and re-stamped if the facts require it — never quietly rewritten.
Image note for readers: All images in this file are original illustrations created for Dark History Files. They are atmospheric artwork, not photographs and not real evidence. No image in this file depicts Elena "Rae" Kazanes, any member of her family, any investigator, any official, or any real person, and no image depicts any act of violence, any death, or any weapon. No photograph of Kazanes has been used in this file.
Caption: Case card for DHF-083 — Elena "Rae" Kazanes case, Lake Los Angeles, California. Status: UNSOLVED.
THE FILE CARD
| Case File No. | DHF-083 |
| Subject | Elena "Rae" Kazanes, 40, found dead in a remote desert area of Lake Los Angeles, California, on Thursday 19 February 2026. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined she died of gunshot wounds. Her death is a homicide. |
| Date | Thursday 19 February 2026 (body found); Wednesday 4 March 2026 (Sheriff's Department public appeal); Tuesday 10 November 2026 ($10,000 reward approved) |
| Location | Dirt access road about a mile east of 140th Street East at East Avenue E, Lake Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Status | UNSOLVED |
| Investigating authorities | Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) Homicide Bureau — Sgts. Giovanni Lampignano and Marc Boskovich; Los Angeles County Medical Examiner; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (reward) |
| Reward | $10,000, approved unanimously by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday 10 November 2026, for information leading to the identification, apprehension and conviction of those responsible. |
| One-line summary | On Thursday morning, 19 February 2026, sheriff's deputies found the body of Elena "Rae" Kazanes, 40, on a desert dirt road in Lake Los Angeles; the Medical Examiner determined she died of gunshot wounds. Nearly nine months later, with no arrest and no suspect publicly identified, the county approved a $10,000 reward for information about her killing. |
THE CASE
Thursday morning on a desert dirt road
On Thursday 19 February 2026, at about 11:21 a.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to a dirt access road about a mile east of 140th Street East at East Avenue E, in the unincorporated community of Lake Los Angeles, California. There, in an isolated desert location, they found the body of a woman.
The reporting of that morning is short, and the shortness is the first fact of this file. The deputies found her body. Investigators reported visible signs of trauma. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later determined that she died of gunshot wounds, confirming her death was a homicide. That is the whole of the public record of the discovery: a time, a place, a body, and a cause of death.
What the record does not say about that morning is just as important, and this file will not fill it in. It does not say who called the deputies, or why they went to that road. It does not say how long she had been there. It does not say whether anything was found with her, or near her, or what the scene looked like beyond the single description of a remote desert area. A dirt access road in the desert is not a street with neighbours and cameras; it is a place a person can be left without being seen, and the public record gives no account of how she came to be there.
The name on the file
She was Elena "Rae" Kazanes, 40 years old. That is what the Sheriff's Department has released about her: a name, a nickname, and an age. There is no public account in the sources relied on here of her life — no hometown, no occupation, no family statement, no account of her last days. There is no reported date of when she was last seen, and no statement that she had been reported missing before her body was found. This file does not guess at any of it.
One small thing about her name is worth recording, because it shows how carefully even the official record has to be read. The Sheriff's Department's Nixle alert carries "Elena" in its headline, but writes "Elana" in the body of the same alert. Every other source relied on here — the Sheriff's Department's own March bulletin, MyNewsLA, and AV Daily News — writes "Elena". This file uses "Elena", and notes the variant here rather than smoothing it away. It is a small discrepancy, and it changes nothing about the case.
The place
Lake Los Angeles is an unincorporated community in the Antelope Valley, in the high desert of northern Los Angeles County, between Palmdale and Lancaster and the open desert beyond them. It is a place of wide streets, dirt roads, and empty ground — a community spread thin across the desert floor, where houses sit far apart and the land between them is brush, Joshua trees, and dry earth.
The geography matters to this case, and it matters in a specific way. A body left on a dirt access road a mile east of 140th Street East is a body left a long way from anyone's front door. The Antelope Valley's desert roads are used by very few people, and a person or a vehicle on one of them can pass without being noticed. That does not explain what happened to Elena Kazanes. It explains why the questions about her death are so hard to answer: there were few witnesses to find, because there are few people there to witness anything.
The March bulletin
Two weeks after the discovery, the Sheriff's Department went public. On Wednesday 4 March 2026, under Sheriff Robert G. Luna, the department issued a "Special Bulletin" headed "Information Wanted — Homicide Investigation", and a matching Nixle alert from its Information Bureau. The bulletin named Elena "Rae" Kazanes, gave the date and the location of the discovery, and asked anyone with information to contact Homicide Bureau detectives — Sgts. Giovanni Lampignano and Marc Boskovich — at (323) 890-5500, or to give information anonymously through Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS, through the P3 Tips app, or at lacrimestoppers.org.
The bulletin is the fullest official statement about this case, and it is short. It says she was found deceased on 19 February 2026 near 140th Street East and East Avenue E. It asks for information. It names the detectives. It does not describe a suspect. It does not describe a vehicle. It does not give a last-seen time or place. It does not say what evidence, if any, was recovered. It does not state a motive.
That is what a public appeal looks like when the police have a body and a cause of death and very little else to work with. The appeal is not a sign that the investigation has stalled; it is a standard part of a homicide investigation, and in a case with few witnesses it is often the most important part. Someone, the detectives believe, knows something. The bulletin is the request for that someone to speak.
Nine months without an answer
Between March and November, the public record of this case went quiet. No arrest was announced. No suspect was publicly identified. No motive was stated. No further official statement about the investigation was reported in any source relied on here. The case did not disappear — the Sheriff's Department's bulletin stayed in circulation, and local coverage in the Antelope Valley kept the reward question alive — but it did not move, in public, for nearly nine months.
That silence is worth understanding correctly. A quiet public record is not the same as a quiet investigation. Homicide detectives do not publish their evidence while they are gathering it, and a case with no suspect does not generate the court dates and charging announcements that keep a case in the news. The nine months between the bulletin and the reward are, as far as the public can tell, nine months in which the detectives worked and the public heard nothing — and the reward that followed is best read as a sign that the detectives still believe the answer is out there, held by someone who has not yet spoken.
Tuesday: the reward
On Tuesday 10 November 2026, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identification, apprehension and conviction of those responsible for the killing of Elena "Rae" Kazanes. The reward was introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the Fifth District, which includes the Antelope Valley.
Barger's statement, as reported by both MyNewsLA and AV Daily News, was direct: "Elena Kazanes' life was taken in a horrific act of violence, and her loved ones deserve answers. Someone out there knows what happened to her, so I'm hopeful this reward will encourage that person to come forward and help bring those responsible to justice. Elena deserves justice. Those who took her life must be held accountable."
A reward is a specific instrument, and it is worth setting out what it does. It offers money — $10,000, in this case — for information that leads to three things: the identification of those responsible, their apprehension, and their conviction. It is not a payment for a tip on its own. It is not a bounty. It is a public offer, made by the county, to someone who knows something and has not yet said it, and it is aimed at the gap the detectives named from the start: they believe there are people who know what happened to Elena Kazanes but have not contacted the authorities.
What the reward does not do
It is important not to over-read the reward. It does not mean the police have new evidence. No source relied on here says the reward follows a new lead, and this file will not claim that it does. It does not mean a suspect has been identified, or that an arrest is near. It does not change what is known about the killing, which is still: a body, a place, a date, and a cause of death.
There is a temptation, when a reward is announced, to treat it as a turning point: the moment a cold case heats up. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is not, and the case stays where it was, with the reward simply added to the file. This file will not predict which of those this is. It records the reward, and it waits.
What the authorities have not said
It is worth listing, plainly, what is not in the public record, because the gaps are the story of this file as much as the facts are. The authorities have not said when Elena Kazanes was last seen, or where. They have not said whether she was reported missing before her body was found. They have not said how she reached the place where she was found, or when she died — only that her body was found on 19 February 2026. They have not described a suspect, a vehicle, or a weapon beyond the Medical Examiner's finding of gunshot wounds. They have not stated a motive. They have not said what evidence, if any, was recovered at the scene.
There are also claims circulating about this case that this file has deliberately left out. Comments on the Sheriff's Department's public posts about the case include speculation about Kazanes's background, her health, and her circumstances, and arguments about whether the location should be called Lake Los Angeles or a neighbouring community. None of those claims appears in any police statement or reputable reporting relied on here, and none is repeated in this file. A comment thread is not evidence, and speculation about a dead woman's life — sympathetic or hostile — is not a fact about her death. If an official source ever addresses any of these points, this file will report it, attributed, and no sooner.
What happens next
The next steps are the ones the reward is designed to produce. Someone with information contacts the Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS, or lacrimestoppers.org — anonymously, if they prefer. A tip becomes a lead. A lead becomes an identification. An identification becomes an arrest, and an arrest becomes a charge. Any of those steps could change this file: a name, a charge, a court date, a motive stated on the record. None has happened yet in any source relied on here, and none is predicted here.
Until then, the file stands as it is: a woman found dead on a desert road in February, a cause of death established, a public appeal in March, and a $10,000 reward in November — and a great deal that is still unknown. That is a thin file, and it is an honest one.
Caption: Illustration of a remote desert dirt road at morning light — atmospheric artwork, not a photograph of the place where Elena "Rae" Kazanes was found, and not evidence.
TIMELINE
- Thursday 19 February 2026, about 11:21 a.m. — Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies respond to a dirt access road about a mile east of 140th Street East at East Avenue E, in the unincorporated community of Lake Los Angeles, and find the body of Elena "Rae" Kazanes, 40, in an isolated desert location. Investigators report visible signs of trauma. (MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026; AV Daily News, 10 November 2026, updated 11 November 2026; LASD Nixle alert)
- After 19 February 2026 — The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determines that Kazanes died of gunshot wounds, confirming her death was a homicide. No date for the determination is given in any source relied on here. (MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026; AV Daily News, 10 November 2026, updated 11 November 2026)
- Wednesday 4 March 2026 — The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department issues a "Special Bulletin" headed "Information Wanted — Homicide Investigation", under Sheriff Robert G. Luna, and a matching Nixle alert. The bulletin names Kazanes, gives the date and location of the discovery, and asks anyone with information to contact Homicide Bureau Sgts. Giovanni Lampignano or Marc Boskovich at (323) 890-5500, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (800) 222-TIPS, through the P3 Tips app, or at lacrimestoppers.org. No suspect is described, and no motive is stated. (LASD Special Bulletin, 4 March 2026; LASD Nixle alert)
- March–November 2026 — The investigation continues. No arrest is announced, no suspect is publicly identified, and no motive is stated in any source relied on here. (AV Daily News, 10 November 2026, updated 11 November 2026; MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026)
- Tuesday 10 November 2026 — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approves a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identification, apprehension and conviction of those responsible for the killing of Elena "Rae" Kazanes. The reward is introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger of the Fifth District. (MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026; AV Daily News, 10 November 2026, updated 11 November 2026)
- Tuesday 10 November 2026 — Supervisor Barger says: "Elena Kazanes' life was taken in a horrific act of violence, and her loved ones deserve answers. Someone out there knows what happened to her, so I'm hopeful this reward will encourage that person to come forward and help bring those responsible to justice. Elena deserves justice. Those who took her life must be held accountable." (MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026; AV Daily News, 10 November 2026, updated 11 November 2026)
EVIDENCE & LEADS
- The discovery, 19 February 2026: Deputies responded at about 11:21 a.m. to a dirt access road about a mile east of 140th Street East at East Avenue E, in the unincorporated community of Lake Los Angeles, and found the body of Elena "Rae" Kazanes, 40, in an isolated desert location. Investigators reported visible signs of trauma. — MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026; AV Daily News, 10 November 2026 (updated 11 November 2026); LASD Nixle alert.
- The cause of death: The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later determined that Kazanes died of gunshot wounds, confirming her death was a homicide. — MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026; AV Daily News, 10 November 2026 (updated 11 November 2026).
- The public appeal, 4 March 2026: The Sheriff's Department issued a "Special Bulletin" and a Nixle alert naming Kazanes and asking anyone with information to contact Homicide Bureau Sgts. Giovanni Lampignano or Marc Boskovich at (323) 890-5500, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (800) 222-TIPS, through the P3 Tips app, or at lacrimestoppers.org. — LASD Special Bulletin, 4 March 2026; LASD Nixle alert.
- The reward, 10 November 2026: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identification, apprehension and conviction of those responsible. The reward was introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger of the Fifth District. — MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026; AV Daily News, 10 November 2026 (updated 11 November 2026).
- The detectives' assessment: Detectives with the Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau believe there may be people who know what happened but have not yet contacted authorities, and they ask anyone who witnessed suspicious activity in the area around 19 February to come forward. Even information that may seem insignificant could help detectives establish a timeline. — AV Daily News, 10 November 2026 (updated 11 November 2026); MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026.
- Supervisor Barger's statement, 10 November 2026: "Elena Kazanes' life was taken in a horrific act of violence, and her loved ones deserve answers. Someone out there knows what happened to her, so I'm hopeful this reward will encourage that person to come forward and help bring those responsible to justice. Elena deserves justice. Those who took her life must be held accountable." — MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026; AV Daily News, 10 November 2026 (updated 11 November 2026).
- The investigation's position: The investigation remains ongoing, and no arrests were announced in the information provided with the reward announcement. — AV Daily News, 10 November 2026 (updated 11 November 2026).
- NOT evidence: any motive for the killing (none has been stated); any account of when Kazanes was last seen, how she reached the location, or when she died (only the date her body was found is on the record); any description of a suspect or a vehicle (none has been given); any detail of the weapon beyond the Medical Examiner's finding of gunshot wounds; any claim about Kazanes's background, health, or circumstances from social-media comments (no official source or reputable reporting relied on here supports them, and they are not repeated in this file); any claim about whether the location should be called Lake Los Angeles or a neighbouring community (a dispute in social-media comments only; the Sheriff's Department and the reporting relied on here place it in Lake Los Angeles); any claim that the reward follows new evidence (no source relied on here says so).
STILL UNKNOWN
- When was Elena Kazanes last seen? No last-seen date, time, or place has been released in any source relied on here. This file states none.
- How did she reach the place where she was found? The authorities have not said how she got to a dirt access road a mile east of 140th Street East, or when, or with whom. This file does not reconstruct it.
- When did she die? Only the date her body was found — Thursday 19 February 2026 — is on the record. The time of death has not been stated in any source relied on here.
- Who killed her? No suspect has been publicly identified, and no arrest has been announced. This file names no one as a suspect.
- What was the motive? No motive has been stated by the authorities in any source relied on here. This file states none.
- Was she reported missing before her body was found? No source relied on here says so. This file does not claim that she was, or that she was not.
- What evidence was recovered at the scene? The authorities have not described any evidence recovered, in any source relied on here. This file does not list any.
- Will the reward produce a lead? The reward was approved on 10 November 2026. Whether it brings forward the information the detectives are seeking is not yet known, and this file does not predict it.
What would change this file: if a tip leads to an arrest or a charge; if the Sheriff's Department identifies a suspect or states a motive; if a last-seen time or place is released; if further evidence is described on the record; or if any further official statement is issued, this file will be updated with the date, the source, and the new stamp if the facts require it — never quietly rewritten. Until then, the stamp stays UNSOLVED.
Information — a note on this file: Elena "Rae" Kazanes was killed, and no one has been arrested for her killing. Anyone with information about her death, or about suspicious activity in the area of 140th Street East and East Avenue E in Lake Los Angeles around 19 February 2026, should contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500, or Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers anonymously at (800) 222-TIPS or at lacrimestoppers.org. Do not send money to anyone claiming to hold information about this case, and do not share rumours about a motive, or about anyone who has not been charged.
WATCH THE FULL STORY
No companion video yet. If Dark History Files' sister channel Curiozoid publishes a video on this case, it will be linked here.
SOURCES
- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Nixle alert (official), "Information Wanted in the Murder of Elena "Rae" Kazanes" (https://local.nixle.com/alert/12235069/?sub_id=0): the Sheriff's Department's public appeal — date and location of the discovery, detectives Sgts. Giovanni Lampignano and Marc Boskovich, Homicide Bureau (323) 890-5500, Crime Stoppers (800) 222-TIPS, P3 Tips app, lacrimestoppers.org. Read in full on 12 November 2026. Note: the alert's headline writes "Elena"; its body text writes "Elana".
- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Facebook, "Special Bulletin" dated Wednesday 4 March 2026 (https://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesCountySheriffsDepartment/posts/pfbid02kSoAJvxyKG1Ne2ag1kjsuHLcog2dkZSzyHxtDJ3zm6gdKsUhfv2cuEMsfrz5HwTwl): "Information Wanted — Homicide Investigation" for Elena "Rae" Kazanes, 40, found deceased 19 February 2026 near 140th Street East and East Avenue E, Lake Los Angeles; detectives Sgts. Giovanni Lampignano and Marc Boskovich; Homicide Bureau (323) 890-5500; Crime Stoppers (800) 222-TIPS, P3 Tips app, lacrimestoppers.org. Read via summary on 12 November 2026.
- MyNewsLA, 10 November 2026 — "LACo Supervisors Approve $10,000 Reward in Lake Los Angeles Killing" (https://mynewsla.com/government/2026/11/10/la-county-supervisors-approve-10000-reward-in-lake-los-angeles-killing/): unanimous $10,000 reward approval; Supervisor Kathryn Barger's statement; body found 19 February at about 11:21 a.m. on a dirt access road about a mile east of 140th Street East at East Avenue E; visible signs of trauma; Medical Examiner determined death by gunshot wounds; tip numbers. Read in full on 12 November 2026.
- AV Daily News, 10 November 2026 (updated 11 November 2026) — "$10,000 Reward in Murder of Lake Los Angeles Woman, LA County Approved Today" (https://www.avdailynews.com/single-post/10-000-reward-in-murder-of-lake-los-angeles-woman-la-county-approved-today): unanimous $10,000 reward approval, introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Fifth District; Barger's statement; discovery at about 11:21 a.m. on 19 February 2026; visible signs of trauma; Medical Examiner determined death by gunshot wounds; nearly nine months after the discovery with no arrests announced; detectives believe people may have information but have not contacted authorities; tip numbers. Read in full on 12 November 2026.
- KTLA 5 News, 11 November 2026 — Facebook and Instagram posts (https://www.facebook.com/ktla5/posts/pfbid0eZg4MyLiFb39yvLHAoV5GjTNzow5yjPWPx1ECX8RQ1fwYWNdyzMdmBEJHm7PsBBl and https://www.instagram.com/p/Dfl_PTuJ_EO/): "Woman found murdered in Lake Los Angeles, $10,000 reward offered for suspect info." Read via summary on 12 November 2026; used only as corroboration of the reward coverage, not as a source for facts stated in this file.
- Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers (https://www.lacrimestoppers.org): the anonymous tip channel named in the Sheriff's Department bulletin and in the reward reporting; the tip numbers in the information box are taken from those sources.
- No competitor article text or image is reproduced in this file. Facts are stated in Dark History Files' own words, with official material attributed to its source. No source beyond those listed above was relied on for facts in the draft. No search-volume numbers are stated, because no tool returned any.
Caption: Illustration of a quiet desert highway at dusk — atmospheric artwork, not a photograph of Lake Los Angeles, and not evidence.
Reader question: Nine months passed between the discovery of Elena Kazanes's body and the approval of a $10,000 reward. What do you think a community can do to keep a case like this visible while investigators wait for the one piece of information that could break it open?
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Next file: DHF-084 — Robert Fox: Missing Since March in South Point, Ohio
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