The Butte County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) announced on Monday, that deputies arrested a man in connection with the 1991 murder of a Stirling City woman.
Deputies allege that Richard Pyle, 55 of Stockton, is responsible for Tracy Zandstra’s murder. Deputies say that Pyle’s arrest last Thursday in Stockton culminates an investigation that began in November of 1991.
That when they began investigating a missing person case involving Zandstra, 29, who was reported to have disappeared from her Strirling City home that she shared with Pyle, whom she was romantically involved. Detectives say they have continued to investigate her disappearance the past 27 years, although her body has never been found, detectives say that found evidence showing Zandstra was murdered and her body was disposed of.
Earlier this month, detectives worked with the Butte County District Attorney’s Office and obtained an arrest warrant for Pyle for the Zandstra’s murder.
Last week, Butte County Sheriff’s detectives began working with the Stockton Police Department to find Pyle, who was listed as a transient. On August 15, Pyle was arrested on the murder warrant and bookec into the Butte County Jail. Pyle’s bail was set at $1 million.
Pyle is expected to be arraigned today at 3:00 p.m. in the Butte County Superior Court.
Sheriff Kory Honea said, “I am proud of the persistent determination of the many Detectives and Investigators who have worked throughout the years to bring justice to Tracy and closure to her family.”