January 24, 2025 • 26 mins
On February 23rd of 2023, Cajairah Fraise vanished without a trace at a local Jack n the box while grabbing a quick bite to eat with family. Her family, her friends, the community, and authorities have been left with more questions than answers. Almost 2 years later we still wonder, what really happened to Cajairah?
If you have any information about Cajairah’s whereabouts, please contact the Beaumont Police Department at 951-769-8500 or the Dock Ellis Foundation at 888-222-6050. Information can also be reported anonymously at crimetips@beaumontpd.org. It’s so important to remember, sometimes the smallest details can be the key to unraveling a complex mystery.
Sources:
Find Cajairah’s Facebook page
Beaumont Police Department’s Missing Person's page
Going West Podcast, Episode 374
NamUs: https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/
https://abc7.com/cajairah-fraise-missing-pregnant-woman-beaumont-police-department-women/13438112/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi everyone, this is your host Raven Siayd and welcome to Forgotten Echoes, a podcast
(00:09):
where we dive into the mysteries and unexplained cases of black women that often get lost in
time.
On February 23rd of 2023, Cajairah fraise vanished without a trace at a local Jack in the Box
while grabbing a quick bite to eat with family.
Her family, friends, the community, and authorities have been left with more questions and answers.
(00:31):
Almost two years later, we still wonder, what really happened at Cajairah?
This is Forgotten Echoes, episode number one, the disappearance of Kajira J. Fraise.
(00:59):
Sources for today's episode include State of California Department of Justice, Name
Us, Find Cajairah's Facebook page, Beaumont Police Department's Missing Persons page,
(01:22):
NBC News, Crime Tips at BeaumontPD.org, ABC 7 Los Angeles, and the Going West podcast
episode 374.
Now let's get into today's episode.
Our story revolves around 22-year-old Cajairah Fraise, who was 35 weeks pregnant when she
went missing one winter night in 2003.
(01:45):
Cajairah grew up in the desert of Southern California in a small city called Beaumont with approximately
55,000 to 60,000 residents.
She attended Beaumont High School and was a part of the track and field team.
At some point, her parents moved to a nearby suburban city, Marino Valley, which is about
35 minutes or so north of the city of Beaumont.
(02:08):
Growing up, Cajairah and her family were pretty close.
Her parents were Karah, or Kay, and her father was Jamel Fraise, and she was the youngest
of three children.
Her siblings were Jahniece and Jamel Jr., or JJ.
Despite her being the baby of the trio, it was said that she had a close bond with her
two older siblings.
(02:29):
They were considered, quote, two peas in a pod.
At the time of her disappearance, Cajairah was eight months pregnant with her child, a sweet
baby boy due on just March 29th of that same year, 2023.
It was reported that Cajairah was extremely excited about the baby, even with being a
(02:50):
little surprised in the beginning.
Her mother Kara, or Kay, said this about her daughter finding out she was going to be a
mother, quote, She is a loving, kind, genuine person.
She was just completely excited and shocked.
She couldn't believe it.
Just the thought of a baby growing inside of you, quote.
(03:10):
It's very obvious Cajairah was so loved by her family and friends.
As we head into the story, I want to give a heads up that in this case, you'll find
that information is extremely limited and misconstrued.
It's almost impossible to know what is accurate and what isn't going through different reports.
(03:31):
Rewinding to Thursday, February 23rd of 2023, a day meant for mother daughter bonding.
Cajairah, who was 35 weeks pregnant and her mother Kara planned a relaxing day together.
They went to the gym for what Kara called a spa day, helping to ease the aches and pains
of pregnancy and just allow the pair to bond and relax as Kajira was only a month or so
(03:54):
away from her due date.
After the spa day, the pair also ran a few errands picking up baby supplies and whatnot.
Towards the end of the night, Cajairah requested to visit her maternal grandmother who lived
in Beaumont, California, and according to reports, she was excited to visit that evening.
Kay, or Cajairah's mother, stated that she was tired so she asked Cajairah father to
(04:19):
drive to the grandmother's house and he agreed.
But it was during the drive to her grandmother's house that the night would take a tragic turn
and fast.
On the way to Cajairah's grandmother's house, she became hungry and wanted to stop for food
and her parents obliged.
Totally understandable being pregnant and having a pretty full day with her mother.
(04:42):
The family stopped at a Jack in the Box restaurant on 89th Beaumont Avenue in Beaumont, California
to grab a quick snack.
It was just within the time frame of 10.15 and 10.30 PM.
Kay, Cajairah's mother, recalls what happens next.
Quote, She was just sitting there, quiet.
(05:03):
Then all of a sudden she opened the door and got out.
She said she needed some fresh air.
I never thought anything of it at first, but when we pulled forward to the window, I looked
back and she was still standing there.
We backed the car up to check on her, but when we paid for the food and pulled forward
again, she was gone.
Quote.
(05:24):
Now, there's a few different theories that I've seen in reports and that I can kind of
sum up.
So, one, she was having a mental health crisis.
Maybe she was going through something and she needed to exit the vehicle quickly and
gather her thoughts, maybe walk around a bit, whatever the case is.
Second theory, maybe she just wasn't feeling well.
(05:44):
I mean, after all, she was eight months pregnant.
She had a full day with her mom.
She was probably on her feet a lot.
Then they're driving from Marino Valley all the way to Beaumont, which is another 30 minutes
or so.
She could have just not been feeling well.
And then the last theory or frankly, maybe she just needed some fresh air.
Like I mean, once again, she's eight months pregnant.
She is probably exhausted from the day.
(06:07):
Who knows how she was feeling physically at the moment.
Maybe just getting some fresh air and just being able to stretch and get out of the car
is what she needed at the moment.
So we are not 100% sure of her mindset at the time of her exiting the vehicle, which
makes this even more tough to try and dissect where she could have went from here, essentially.
(06:29):
Now, after her parents get the food, they realize Cajairah is nowhere in sight and they
immediately search in the nearby parking lots and circle the area while asking people around
the Jack in the Box if they've seen anything.
Quickly going into the landscape here.
So fun fact, I've actually been to this Jack in the Box more times than I'd like to recall.
(06:50):
So let me break down the location for you.
The Jack in the Box is just off of Beaumont Avenue and East 1st Street, and it's surrounded
by other small businesses as well as a high school.
Going south from that Jack in the Box, you're headed to more of a desert, wildlife area.
In Beaumont, there's tons of open fields, a lot of desert area.
(07:13):
So think about that when you're envisioning the location.
Now if you follow south, you'll eventually reach Highway 79.
Now after going north of the Jack in the Box, you're going towards the downtown Beaumont
area, which there's more shops.
There's more lights, probably more people in the area, etc, etc.
Unfortunately, we don't have much info on what direction she went towards, but it is
(07:37):
believed that she went south.
We probably want her to go north because once again, you're going to more of the downtown
area.
There's more people.
It's more heavily lit.
Beaumont can get really dark and has some rural places, especially when going south
and hitting that highway.
So it's a little concerning that from the little information we have, it looks like
(08:00):
she did go south.
Now ABC 7 states, quote, after an hour or so of nobody spotting Kajira, the family calls
911 reporting her missing, quote.
Now there are reports of the family calling the police at 1039, which would mean they
only searched for about nine minutes or so from the time they realized she was missing
(08:22):
at 1030 p.m.
Remember, they actually pull up to the jack in the box between 1015, 1030.
They get their food fairly quickly.
And there's reports saying that police received their first call from the fraise at 1039,
which would leave about nine to 10 minutes of actually them circling different parking
(08:43):
lots and searching for her.
However, there are also conflicting reports that they searched for her for an hour or
so and then called the police, which would have been closer to that 1130 midnight area
or time.
Just pointing that out, it's a small discrepancy as I can't say which one is 100 percent accurate.
(09:03):
So just stating that they're contradicting reports out there.
And I can't really for certain say which one is accurate and which one isn't.
Now initially, Beaumont police stated that due to Cajairah's age, she was missing voluntarily.
But as time went on and with being pregnant and extremely vulnerable, that changed and
investigators launched a search March 7th of 2023.
(09:27):
Yes, March 7th.
But unfortunately, no clues were found.
It was seriously like Cajairah had disappeared into thin air.
During the search, investigators took to foot searching along Highway 79, as well as using
drones, dogs and helicopters.
And that area is extremely vast with little lighting and is surrounded by desert, which
(09:49):
made it all the more imperative police try and locate Cajairah as soon as possible.
My two cents in here, it's absolutely insane to me that police found nothing.
I mean, as someone who's real big true crime follower and looking at different cases, it's
very rare that I mean like someone literally disappears into thin air.
(10:10):
They didn't find a particle of clothing, maybe a receipt that fell out of a pocket,
footsteps that in the dirt that could have indicated it was her.
There was no direction on where she could have went.
I mean, there's absolutely nothing they find.
And this is a woman who is 35 weeks pregnant.
(10:31):
And I mean, essentially, you would think couldn't get that far from the time her parents ordered
the food to when they go searching for her.
So it's extremely alarming that nothing was found, no clues at all.
So Beaumont police released two photos from their surveillance that night and a selfie
of her holding her own phone in a gym bathroom the day she went missing.
(10:55):
Also it was said that Cajairah's mom had her phone after she went missing and her mom misplaced
it weeks later.
So police didn't obtain the phone immediately.
So did she lose the phone or did her family have it?
If she lost it, when did she lose it?
And were any phone records recovered?
What we do know is the photo that was being used on Cajairah's missing person's flyer
(11:18):
was taken the very day she disappeared.
How that photo was obtained, if not from her phone itself, is still unknown.
Now there's a couple almost I don't want to say conspiracy theories, but different
theories involving the case that I kind of want to get into to iron out a couple of details.
Now one Beaumont police and the fraise family seem to not be on the same page regarding
(11:41):
the case from the very beginning, all the way to when the fraise family called Beaumont
police department and reported their daughter missing.
Now they believe the same night she went missing, which was February 23rd of 2023.
That night they called Beaumont police department, let investigators know that she was nowhere
to be found, assuming that that was them declaring her missing.
(12:05):
Now Beaumont police called the family the following day, the 24th of 2023 to see if
they wanted to proceed with the missing person's report.
Now this was concerning.
The family was extremely confused as they thought it was recorded the previous night
that their daughter was declared missing.
Once Cajairah's family searched for her, but there was just no sign of her.
(12:26):
Beaumont police department are saying the 24th is when technically she was declared missing,
which obviously put the family at a loss of about 24 hours.
While the fraise family is saying we called the 23rd and that is when we declared our
daughter missing.
So that is something that I have found reports that the police department and the family
(12:48):
are not on the same page about.
Another conflicting statement was her purse and her phone were still in the car, yet she
had taken nothing with her except her Bible.
Just minutes had passed, but Cajairah had disappeared into night without a trace.
Now the phone is a tough one because when Cajairah got out the car to get some fresh air,
(13:09):
she only took her Bible with her.
She left all her belongings, including her phone in the car.
Now the conspiracy theory, if you will, regarding the phone is that she may have not just taken
her phone, but why would she decide to just walk away from her life or run away without
her phone?
(13:31):
And it just doesn't make sense.
And I think this key piece really speaks to maybe her mental state at the time.
She just left everything.
And later on down the line, we see that her mother maybe says that she misplaced her phone,
but then finds it later down the line.
So police don't get her phone immediately, so we don't really know if she had any plans
(13:52):
with anybody or she voluntarily went missing under her own volition.
So we really don't know about that.
So those are just a couple of theories that are out there.
Once again, I'm neutral on this.
I feel like there could have just been some miscommunication between Beaumont Police Department
and the family.
But that is that.
So now it's 2023.
So you're probably wondering where's the camera footage from the businesses in the
(14:15):
surrounding area.
But that proved to not be as much help as investigators would have wanted it to be.
A nearby high school surveillance camera would offer the only glimpse into Kajira's final
moments that we as a public get to see.
Unfortunately, footage from the Jack in the Box itself had been recorded over by the time
investigators, pardon me, tried to obtain it.
(14:37):
So we aren't able to see some of the first moments into her disappearance.
The issue of the surveillance footage was a huge blow for investigators in the case.
The video from the Jack in the Box complex wasn't reviewed until nearly a month after
Kajira's disappearance.
By then, all of the footage from the restaurant was already overwritten.
(14:58):
The only available footage was from a camera facing the Jack in the Box parking lot that
showed essentially Kajira walking south across the lot away from the restaurant towards some
businesses behind the shopping center.
A critical piece of evidence that we wish had shown more of Cajairah's last seen whereabouts.
(15:19):
But even then, at the end of it all, we are left with more questions than answers.
The footage police received was from a high school near the Jack in the Box that showed
Kajira dressed in gray sweatpants, a black sweatshirt with a hood, a black shawl and
slip-on shoes, walking along with only her Bible in her hand.
She left her other belongings in her parents' car as stated a little earlier.
(15:43):
No one knows where she was headed or why she was walking away from her family in such a
state.
What was troubling her, if anything?
What caused her to step out of the car so suddenly?
These are questions we can't confidently answer until this day.
When asking Kay, what she thought was running through her daughter's head when she stepped
(16:04):
out of the car, she states, quote,
She was upset when she left the car, but what was going on?
I don't know.
I've always thought maybe she was having some sort of mental health emergency.
Quote.
While her mother believes it was a health emergency, the investigators have said they
found no evidence of foul play.
(16:25):
Yet, as the days passed and the days turned into months, they realized something extremely
chilling.
Kajira was not just missing, she was critically missing.
At 35 weeks pregnant, the clock was ticking and Kajira's safety and the safety of her
baby boy was in jeopardy.
Now fast forward.
Local hospitals, shelters, and even mental health facilities were contacted throughout
(16:49):
California and Nevada by her parents, according to reports.
Her parents also put up flyers and stood in front of local businesses to spread the awareness
that still, no one had any information on Cajairah's whereabouts.
A hundred thousand dollar reward was offered by her family in hopes of finding her, but
it came with an expiration date.
(17:10):
The details surrounding Kajira's disappearance are filled with questions and quite frankly,
a lot of inconsistencies.
For one, why did she leave her phone and wallet behind?
I think that is the most telling detail we have regarding the case because it just doesn't
make sense in my head.
Why only take her Bible with her?
Her family let police in the dark about where Cajairah's phone might be, but an advocate
(17:33):
for Cajairah's case, Sarah Werner, raised an eyebrow when she pointed out that the photo
used on Cajairah's missing person's flyers had been taken the very day she disappeared.
But how?
We'll get into theories in a second.
As the months go by, many of Kajira's advocates became pushing for more public awareness of
(17:53):
the case.
In the midst of all the chaos, Cajairah's brother, JJ, made a controversial statement sent to
the critic, Sarah Werner, a now deleted message that read, quote, what story did you make
up?
You must be one of those advocates that lie and make up information.
You are the reason people aren't found and are confused.
(18:17):
Talking about I'm doing this for money.
Money won't keep my sister's heart pumping.
Money won't keep Cajairah where she is.
One thing we use the money for is to incentivize whoever has her to let us know she's safe.
You don't know what you're talking about.
You want a story out of this.
I'm telling you to leave my family alone and stop speaking on the situation.
(18:39):
You're reading the press releases and other information you can get on the Internet.
I know what happened.
I damn sure won't explain that to you.
Have a good day and stay off of my mentions.
The comment raised some eyebrows, sparking speculation that the family might know more
than they're letting on.
The now deleted message added a layer of suspicion to an already puzzling case, but it's unclear
(19:02):
whether JJ's comment was made out of frustration or something deeper.
Now I'm going to flush this out because I see this from two different perspectives.
It's really important to realize that the fraise family has been through a lot at
this point.
There's no user manual on how to react when your sister goes missing.
(19:26):
So I definitely believe that this statement, I know what happened, isn't necessarily saying
I literally know where my sister is.
It's saying more so that I know that foul play was at play here.
Something sinister happened and we are not behind this.
On the other side, it came off a little suspicious because we have a family here that isn't on
(19:51):
the same page with Beaumont Police Department.
There's been a couple of things that are a little eye opening that we really haven't
received any clarity on.
So unfortunately that leads to a lot of speculation from the public, especially when we don't
know much.
So I see both sides, but I definitely think it's important to give grace to the family
because like I said, no one knows how they're going to react when not only their sibling,
(20:17):
but also their nephew, she was 35 weeks pregnant, has been missing now and they don't feel
like they're getting the support that they need to find her.
So as we try to piece together what happened that cold night, several theories emerge.
Did Kajira get into a car?
Was she abducted?
Is there foul play at hand or was there an accident involving the parents?
(20:38):
Could there be a deeper, more personal connection to her disappearance?
I know this thought is scary to think about, but this scenario has happened before.
A couple of questions that still haunt me in this case are one, why didn't she take
her phone, her wallet or any of her personal belongings?
Her mom saying that she may have misplaced her phone so she couldn't give it to police
(21:01):
immediately after she went missing.
But then obviously her mom submitting the photo of her the same day she went missing
kind of makes you wonder when did she lose her phone?
When did the family find it?
There was a gap between when they essentially found the phone and when if police ever received
(21:21):
it.
We don't know if any records were obtained from it.
We don't really know anything about that, but it just left the public a little confused
about the situation.
Second question, where is the father of her child?
Why hasn't he come forward?
Now I'm going to say here and say I'm going to highly assume I'm going to assume that
he has never been a suspect or perceived a suspect as usually significant others are
(21:48):
the first people police are going to go towards, especially a case like this.
We've never heard his name.
I've never even seen his name in a report.
The family has not mentioned his name and Beaumont police have not named him a suspect.
So I'm assuming that clears him and that means that he is not involved in this whatsoever.
But I think it's interesting that we don't really hear anything.
(22:11):
Third question, why didn't the family speak out sooner?
Why did they wait until March to post about her disappearance publicly?
Now the family spoke out.
However, they didn't wait until almost two weeks after her disappearance to speak out
publicly and post about this on Facebook, etc.
(22:33):
Family has said that unfortunately at the time they were under the impression that police
were doing all they could to find Cajairah.
You know, I think that and I think it's fair to say that they thought police were taking
care of this.
They don't necessarily need to go out there and post an advocate.
Obviously for anyone who's listening to this, if you're ever in this situation, take the
(22:54):
reins early on in any type of missing persons report.
Definitely print your own flyers if you can post as much as you can get the word out.
The first 48 hours are the most crucial in these type of cases.
Unfortunately the parents didn't speak out publicly, but I also understand that they
thought the police were doing so and the police really weren't doing so.
(23:16):
So there was some miscommunication there, which unfortunately put them a little bit
behind the ball when they started to really search and take the case involving Kajira
seriously.
And the last question, why do the police and the family statements about the case differ
so much?
I just feel like from what I've read, there's really no, there's not a lot of aligning reports.
(23:39):
Police will come out with a couple statements that'll be slightly different than what the
parents are stating and vice versa.
So I think that's really interesting.
There's a lot of miscommunication there.
And I think that as the public, you don't really know, you know, I'm always going to
stand with the family, but you know, it definitely leads to like not really knowing clarity on
(24:01):
the case or even the specifics on what day was she reported missing?
When did searches take place?
Why did searches take so long to take place, etc.
We don't really know because we have different statements from both parties, the most important
parties at that.
These are the questions that still continue to linger until we have answers, which makes
(24:23):
this case all the more chilling.
Did she walk away on her own volition or something more sinister at play here?
As the days turn into months and the months turn into years, we may never know the full
story.
Kajira Frazee and her young son are still missing till this day.
She would just be approaching her 24th birthday and your son would be around 22 months old.
(24:47):
Her family, friends in the community are still left in the dark.
Now here's the call to action.
If you have any information about Cajairah's whereabouts, please contact the Beaumont Police
Department at 951 area code 769-8500 or the Doc Ellis Foundation at 888 area code 222-6050.
(25:12):
Information can also be reported anonymously at crimetipsatbeaumontpd.org.
It is so important to remember, sometimes the smallest details can be the key to unraveling
a complex mystery.
Thank you for tuning in to episode 1 of Forgotten Echoes.
I'm Raven Siyad and I'll see you next week with another case that needs to be remembered.
(25:34):
Stay vigilant, stay aware, and keep the echoes of the forgotten alive.
I'll see you soon.
Hi everyone, this is your host Raven Siayd and welcome to Forgotten Echoes, a podcast
(00:09):
where we dive into the mysteries and unexplained cases of black women that often get lost in
time.
On February 23rd of 2023, Cajairah fraise vanished without a trace at a local Jack in the Box
while grabbing a quick bite to eat with family.
Her family, friends, the community, and authorities have been left with more questions and answers.
(00:31):
Almost two years later, we still wonder, what really happened at Cajairah?
This is Forgotten Echoes, episode number one, the disappearance of Kajira J. Fraise.
(00:59):
Sources for today's episode include State of California Department of Justice, Name
Us, Find Cajairah's Facebook page, Beaumont Police Department's Missing Persons page,
(01:22):
NBC News, Crime Tips at BeaumontPD.org, ABC 7 Los Angeles, and the Going West podcast
episode 374.
Now let's get into today's episode.
Our story revolves around 22-year-old Cajairah Fraise, who was 35 weeks pregnant when she
went missing one winter night in 2003.
(01:45):
Cajairah grew up in the desert of Southern California in a small city called Beaumont with approximately
55,000 to 60,000 residents.
She attended Beaumont High School and was a part of the track and field team.
At some point, her parents moved to a nearby suburban city, Marino Valley, which is about
35 minutes or so north of the city of Beaumont.
(02:08):
Growing up, Cajairah and her family were pretty close.
Her parents were Karah, or Kay, and her father was Jamel Fraise, and she was the youngest
of three children.
Her siblings were Jahniece and Jamel Jr., or JJ.
Despite her being the baby of the trio, it was said that she had a close bond with her
two older siblings.
(02:29):
They were considered, quote, two peas in a pod.
At the time of her disappearance, Cajairah was eight months pregnant with her child, a sweet
baby boy due on just March 29th of that same year, 2023.
It was reported that Cajairah was extremely excited about the baby, even with being a
(02:50):
little surprised in the beginning.
Her mother Kara, or Kay, said this about her daughter finding out she was going to be a
mother, quote, She is a loving, kind, genuine person.
She was just completely excited and shocked.
She couldn't believe it.
Just the thought of a baby growing inside of you, quote.
(03:10):
It's very obvious Cajairah was so loved by her family and friends.
As we head into the story, I want to give a heads up that in this case, you'll find
that information is extremely limited and misconstrued.
It's almost impossible to know what is accurate and what isn't going through different reports.
(03:31):
Rewinding to Thursday, February 23rd of 2023, a day meant for mother daughter bonding.
Cajairah, who was 35 weeks pregnant and her mother Kara planned a relaxing day together.
They went to the gym for what Kara called a spa day, helping to ease the aches and pains
of pregnancy and just allow the pair to bond and relax as Kajira was only a month or so
(03:54):
away from her due date.
After the spa day, the pair also ran a few errands picking up baby supplies and whatnot.
Towards the end of the night, Cajairah requested to visit her maternal grandmother who lived
in Beaumont, California, and according to reports, she was excited to visit that evening.
Kay, or Cajairah's mother, stated that she was tired so she asked Cajairah father to
(04:19):
drive to the grandmother's house and he agreed.
But it was during the drive to her grandmother's house that the night would take a tragic turn
and fast.
On the way to Cajairah's grandmother's house, she became hungry and wanted to stop for food
and her parents obliged.
Totally understandable being pregnant and having a pretty full day with her mother.
(04:42):
The family stopped at a Jack in the Box restaurant on 89th Beaumont Avenue in Beaumont, California
to grab a quick snack.
It was just within the time frame of 10.15 and 10.30 PM.
Kay, Cajairah's mother, recalls what happens next.
Quote, She was just sitting there, quiet.
(05:03):
Then all of a sudden she opened the door and got out.
She said she needed some fresh air.
I never thought anything of it at first, but when we pulled forward to the window, I looked
back and she was still standing there.
We backed the car up to check on her, but when we paid for the food and pulled forward
again, she was gone.
Quote.
(05:24):
Now, there's a few different theories that I've seen in reports and that I can kind of
sum up.
So, one, she was having a mental health crisis.
Maybe she was going through something and she needed to exit the vehicle quickly and
gather her thoughts, maybe walk around a bit, whatever the case is.
Second theory, maybe she just wasn't feeling well.
(05:44):
I mean, after all, she was eight months pregnant.
She had a full day with her mom.
She was probably on her feet a lot.
Then they're driving from Marino Valley all the way to Beaumont, which is another 30 minutes
or so.
She could have just not been feeling well.
And then the last theory or frankly, maybe she just needed some fresh air.
Like I mean, once again, she's eight months pregnant.
She is probably exhausted from the day.
(06:07):
Who knows how she was feeling physically at the moment.
Maybe just getting some fresh air and just being able to stretch and get out of the car
is what she needed at the moment.
So we are not 100% sure of her mindset at the time of her exiting the vehicle, which
makes this even more tough to try and dissect where she could have went from here, essentially.
(06:29):
Now, after her parents get the food, they realize Cajairah is nowhere in sight and they
immediately search in the nearby parking lots and circle the area while asking people around
the Jack in the Box if they've seen anything.
Quickly going into the landscape here.
So fun fact, I've actually been to this Jack in the Box more times than I'd like to recall.
(06:50):
So let me break down the location for you.
The Jack in the Box is just off of Beaumont Avenue and East 1st Street, and it's surrounded
by other small businesses as well as a high school.
Going south from that Jack in the Box, you're headed to more of a desert, wildlife area.
In Beaumont, there's tons of open fields, a lot of desert area.
(07:13):
So think about that when you're envisioning the location.
Now if you follow south, you'll eventually reach Highway 79.
Now after going north of the Jack in the Box, you're going towards the downtown Beaumont
area, which there's more shops.
There's more lights, probably more people in the area, etc, etc.
Unfortunately, we don't have much info on what direction she went towards, but it is
(07:37):
believed that she went south.
We probably want her to go north because once again, you're going to more of the downtown
area.
There's more people.
It's more heavily lit.
Beaumont can get really dark and has some rural places, especially when going south
and hitting that highway.
So it's a little concerning that from the little information we have, it looks like
(08:00):
she did go south.
Now ABC 7 states, quote, after an hour or so of nobody spotting Kajira, the family calls
911 reporting her missing, quote.
Now there are reports of the family calling the police at 1039, which would mean they
only searched for about nine minutes or so from the time they realized she was missing
(08:22):
at 1030 p.m.
Remember, they actually pull up to the jack in the box between 1015, 1030.
They get their food fairly quickly.
And there's reports saying that police received their first call from the fraise at 1039,
which would leave about nine to 10 minutes of actually them circling different parking
(08:43):
lots and searching for her.
However, there are also conflicting reports that they searched for her for an hour or
so and then called the police, which would have been closer to that 1130 midnight area
or time.
Just pointing that out, it's a small discrepancy as I can't say which one is 100 percent accurate.
(09:03):
So just stating that they're contradicting reports out there.
And I can't really for certain say which one is accurate and which one isn't.
Now initially, Beaumont police stated that due to Cajairah's age, she was missing voluntarily.
But as time went on and with being pregnant and extremely vulnerable, that changed and
investigators launched a search March 7th of 2023.
(09:27):
Yes, March 7th.
But unfortunately, no clues were found.
It was seriously like Cajairah had disappeared into thin air.
During the search, investigators took to foot searching along Highway 79, as well as using
drones, dogs and helicopters.
And that area is extremely vast with little lighting and is surrounded by desert, which
(09:49):
made it all the more imperative police try and locate Cajairah as soon as possible.
My two cents in here, it's absolutely insane to me that police found nothing.
I mean, as someone who's real big true crime follower and looking at different cases, it's
very rare that I mean like someone literally disappears into thin air.
(10:10):
They didn't find a particle of clothing, maybe a receipt that fell out of a pocket,
footsteps that in the dirt that could have indicated it was her.
There was no direction on where she could have went.
I mean, there's absolutely nothing they find.
And this is a woman who is 35 weeks pregnant.
(10:31):
And I mean, essentially, you would think couldn't get that far from the time her parents ordered
the food to when they go searching for her.
So it's extremely alarming that nothing was found, no clues at all.
So Beaumont police released two photos from their surveillance that night and a selfie
of her holding her own phone in a gym bathroom the day she went missing.
(10:55):
Also it was said that Cajairah's mom had her phone after she went missing and her mom misplaced
it weeks later.
So police didn't obtain the phone immediately.
So did she lose the phone or did her family have it?
If she lost it, when did she lose it?
And were any phone records recovered?
What we do know is the photo that was being used on Cajairah's missing person's flyer
(11:18):
was taken the very day she disappeared.
How that photo was obtained, if not from her phone itself, is still unknown.
Now there's a couple almost I don't want to say conspiracy theories, but different
theories involving the case that I kind of want to get into to iron out a couple of details.
Now one Beaumont police and the fraise family seem to not be on the same page regarding
(11:41):
the case from the very beginning, all the way to when the fraise family called Beaumont
police department and reported their daughter missing.
Now they believe the same night she went missing, which was February 23rd of 2023.
That night they called Beaumont police department, let investigators know that she was nowhere
to be found, assuming that that was them declaring her missing.
(12:05):
Now Beaumont police called the family the following day, the 24th of 2023 to see if
they wanted to proceed with the missing person's report.
Now this was concerning.
The family was extremely confused as they thought it was recorded the previous night
that their daughter was declared missing.
Once Cajairah's family searched for her, but there was just no sign of her.
(12:26):
Beaumont police department are saying the 24th is when technically she was declared missing,
which obviously put the family at a loss of about 24 hours.
While the fraise family is saying we called the 23rd and that is when we declared our
daughter missing.
So that is something that I have found reports that the police department and the family
(12:48):
are not on the same page about.
Another conflicting statement was her purse and her phone were still in the car, yet she
had taken nothing with her except her Bible.
Just minutes had passed, but Cajairah had disappeared into night without a trace.
Now the phone is a tough one because when Cajairah got out the car to get some fresh air,
(13:09):
she only took her Bible with her.
She left all her belongings, including her phone in the car.
Now the conspiracy theory, if you will, regarding the phone is that she may have not just taken
her phone, but why would she decide to just walk away from her life or run away without
her phone?
(13:31):
And it just doesn't make sense.
And I think this key piece really speaks to maybe her mental state at the time.
She just left everything.
And later on down the line, we see that her mother maybe says that she misplaced her phone,
but then finds it later down the line.
So police don't get her phone immediately, so we don't really know if she had any plans
(13:52):
with anybody or she voluntarily went missing under her own volition.
So we really don't know about that.
So those are just a couple of theories that are out there.
Once again, I'm neutral on this.
I feel like there could have just been some miscommunication between Beaumont Police Department
and the family.
But that is that.
So now it's 2023.
So you're probably wondering where's the camera footage from the businesses in the
(14:15):
surrounding area.
But that proved to not be as much help as investigators would have wanted it to be.
A nearby high school surveillance camera would offer the only glimpse into Kajira's final
moments that we as a public get to see.
Unfortunately, footage from the Jack in the Box itself had been recorded over by the time
investigators, pardon me, tried to obtain it.
(14:37):
So we aren't able to see some of the first moments into her disappearance.
The issue of the surveillance footage was a huge blow for investigators in the case.
The video from the Jack in the Box complex wasn't reviewed until nearly a month after
Kajira's disappearance.
By then, all of the footage from the restaurant was already overwritten.
(14:58):
The only available footage was from a camera facing the Jack in the Box parking lot that
showed essentially Kajira walking south across the lot away from the restaurant towards some
businesses behind the shopping center.
A critical piece of evidence that we wish had shown more of Cajairah's last seen whereabouts.
(15:19):
But even then, at the end of it all, we are left with more questions than answers.
The footage police received was from a high school near the Jack in the Box that showed
Kajira dressed in gray sweatpants, a black sweatshirt with a hood, a black shawl and
slip-on shoes, walking along with only her Bible in her hand.
She left her other belongings in her parents' car as stated a little earlier.
(15:43):
No one knows where she was headed or why she was walking away from her family in such a
state.
What was troubling her, if anything?
What caused her to step out of the car so suddenly?
These are questions we can't confidently answer until this day.
When asking Kay, what she thought was running through her daughter's head when she stepped
(16:04):
out of the car, she states, quote,
She was upset when she left the car, but what was going on?
I don't know.
I've always thought maybe she was having some sort of mental health emergency.
Quote.
While her mother believes it was a health emergency, the investigators have said they
found no evidence of foul play.
(16:25):
Yet, as the days passed and the days turned into months, they realized something extremely
chilling.
Kajira was not just missing, she was critically missing.
At 35 weeks pregnant, the clock was ticking and Kajira's safety and the safety of her
baby boy was in jeopardy.
Now fast forward.
Local hospitals, shelters, and even mental health facilities were contacted throughout
(16:49):
California and Nevada by her parents, according to reports.
Her parents also put up flyers and stood in front of local businesses to spread the awareness
that still, no one had any information on Cajairah's whereabouts.
A hundred thousand dollar reward was offered by her family in hopes of finding her, but
it came with an expiration date.
(17:10):
The details surrounding Kajira's disappearance are filled with questions and quite frankly,
a lot of inconsistencies.
For one, why did she leave her phone and wallet behind?
I think that is the most telling detail we have regarding the case because it just doesn't
make sense in my head.
Why only take her Bible with her?
Her family let police in the dark about where Cajairah's phone might be, but an advocate
(17:33):
for Cajairah's case, Sarah Werner, raised an eyebrow when she pointed out that the photo
used on Cajairah's missing person's flyers had been taken the very day she disappeared.
But how?
We'll get into theories in a second.
As the months go by, many of Kajira's advocates became pushing for more public awareness of
(17:53):
the case.
In the midst of all the chaos, Cajairah's brother, JJ, made a controversial statement sent to
the critic, Sarah Werner, a now deleted message that read, quote, what story did you make
up?
You must be one of those advocates that lie and make up information.
You are the reason people aren't found and are confused.
(18:17):
Talking about I'm doing this for money.
Money won't keep my sister's heart pumping.
Money won't keep Cajairah where she is.
One thing we use the money for is to incentivize whoever has her to let us know she's safe.
You don't know what you're talking about.
You want a story out of this.
I'm telling you to leave my family alone and stop speaking on the situation.
(18:39):
You're reading the press releases and other information you can get on the Internet.
I know what happened.
I damn sure won't explain that to you.
Have a good day and stay off of my mentions.
The comment raised some eyebrows, sparking speculation that the family might know more
than they're letting on.
The now deleted message added a layer of suspicion to an already puzzling case, but it's unclear
(19:02):
whether JJ's comment was made out of frustration or something deeper.
Now I'm going to flush this out because I see this from two different perspectives.
It's really important to realize that the fraise family has been through a lot at
this point.
There's no user manual on how to react when your sister goes missing.
(19:26):
So I definitely believe that this statement, I know what happened, isn't necessarily saying
I literally know where my sister is.
It's saying more so that I know that foul play was at play here.
Something sinister happened and we are not behind this.
On the other side, it came off a little suspicious because we have a family here that isn't on
(19:51):
the same page with Beaumont Police Department.
There's been a couple of things that are a little eye opening that we really haven't
received any clarity on.
So unfortunately that leads to a lot of speculation from the public, especially when we don't
know much.
So I see both sides, but I definitely think it's important to give grace to the family
because like I said, no one knows how they're going to react when not only their sibling,
(20:17):
but also their nephew, she was 35 weeks pregnant, has been missing now and they don't feel
like they're getting the support that they need to find her.
So as we try to piece together what happened that cold night, several theories emerge.
Did Kajira get into a car?
Was she abducted?
Is there foul play at hand or was there an accident involving the parents?
(20:38):
Could there be a deeper, more personal connection to her disappearance?
I know this thought is scary to think about, but this scenario has happened before.
A couple of questions that still haunt me in this case are one, why didn't she take
her phone, her wallet or any of her personal belongings?
Her mom saying that she may have misplaced her phone so she couldn't give it to police
(21:01):
immediately after she went missing.
But then obviously her mom submitting the photo of her the same day she went missing
kind of makes you wonder when did she lose her phone?
When did the family find it?
There was a gap between when they essentially found the phone and when if police ever received
(21:21):
it.
We don't know if any records were obtained from it.
We don't really know anything about that, but it just left the public a little confused
about the situation.
Second question, where is the father of her child?
Why hasn't he come forward?
Now I'm going to say here and say I'm going to highly assume I'm going to assume that
he has never been a suspect or perceived a suspect as usually significant others are
(21:48):
the first people police are going to go towards, especially a case like this.
We've never heard his name.
I've never even seen his name in a report.
The family has not mentioned his name and Beaumont police have not named him a suspect.
So I'm assuming that clears him and that means that he is not involved in this whatsoever.
But I think it's interesting that we don't really hear anything.
(22:11):
Third question, why didn't the family speak out sooner?
Why did they wait until March to post about her disappearance publicly?
Now the family spoke out.
However, they didn't wait until almost two weeks after her disappearance to speak out
publicly and post about this on Facebook, etc.
(22:33):
Family has said that unfortunately at the time they were under the impression that police
were doing all they could to find Cajairah.
You know, I think that and I think it's fair to say that they thought police were taking
care of this.
They don't necessarily need to go out there and post an advocate.
Obviously for anyone who's listening to this, if you're ever in this situation, take the
(22:54):
reins early on in any type of missing persons report.
Definitely print your own flyers if you can post as much as you can get the word out.
The first 48 hours are the most crucial in these type of cases.
Unfortunately the parents didn't speak out publicly, but I also understand that they
thought the police were doing so and the police really weren't doing so.
(23:16):
So there was some miscommunication there, which unfortunately put them a little bit
behind the ball when they started to really search and take the case involving Kajira
seriously.
And the last question, why do the police and the family statements about the case differ
so much?
I just feel like from what I've read, there's really no, there's not a lot of aligning reports.
(23:39):
Police will come out with a couple statements that'll be slightly different than what the
parents are stating and vice versa.
So I think that's really interesting.
There's a lot of miscommunication there.
And I think that as the public, you don't really know, you know, I'm always going to
stand with the family, but you know, it definitely leads to like not really knowing clarity on
(24:01):
the case or even the specifics on what day was she reported missing?
When did searches take place?
Why did searches take so long to take place, etc.
We don't really know because we have different statements from both parties, the most important
parties at that.
These are the questions that still continue to linger until we have answers, which makes
(24:23):
this case all the more chilling.
Did she walk away on her own volition or something more sinister at play here?
As the days turn into months and the months turn into years, we may never know the full
story.
Kajira Frazee and her young son are still missing till this day.
She would just be approaching her 24th birthday and your son would be around 22 months old.
(24:47):
Her family, friends in the community are still left in the dark.
Now here's the call to action.
If you have any information about Cajairah's whereabouts, please contact the Beaumont Police
Department at 951 area code 769-8500 or the Doc Ellis Foundation at 888 area code 222-6050.
(25:12):
Information can also be reported anonymously at crimetipsatbeaumontpd.org.
It is so important to remember, sometimes the smallest details can be the key to unraveling
a complex mystery.
Thank you for tuning in to episode 1 of Forgotten Echoes.
I'm Raven Siyad and I'll see you next week with another case that needs to be remembered.
(25:34):
Stay vigilant, stay aware, and keep the echoes of the forgotten alive.
I'll see you soon.
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