Azita Nikooei now missing 3 years, Bakersfield, California

I am very glad that Azita was not completely forgotten by the media this year. The only thing that could have made this article better would be if it had included a picture. (Or, of course, if it was reporting that Azita had been found! Hopefully that will come soon.)
Article from http://www.kget.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=8a983816-ae5c-43d6-b234-4dbe178b301e&rss=91:

Azita Nikooei's family puts up reward
Last Update: 9/04 1:41 pm
It’s been three years since the disappearance of Azita Nikooei, the young mother and
exotic dancer who went missing over the 2004 Labor Day weekend.
Bakersfield police investigators said this is not a cold case, though, and they are making progress. Now, the Nikooei family is also taking action.
The 29-year-old mother disappeared Sept. 6, 2004.
The last time she was seen was at the Marketplace in southwest Bakersfield the afternoon she disappeared. Her car was discovered in the Marketplace parking lot four days later. Her body was never discovered and police believe her case to be homicide.
“We do have people of interest. We do have a suspect, who is that Nathan Mowers,” said Bakersfield Police Sgt. Greg Terry.
This is the first time Bakersfield Police have named Nikooei’s boyfriend, Nathan Mowers, as a suspect. For the past three years he has been called a person of interest.
Mowers disappeared two weeks after Nikooei vanished. He was arrested in Wisconsin for a weapons violation, and the couple’s home in Bakersfield was searched for clues.
“There is foul play with her ex-boyfriend,” said Azita’s friend, Sherry Johnson.
Iran-native Nikooei came to the U.S. in 1994 and began working as an exotic dancer at Déjà Vu, of which friends said her boyfriend disapproved.
“She was a firecracker, spunky, outspoken, funny girl. The funniest I ever met in my whole life,” Johnson said.
The Nikooei family released this statement Monday: In our minds, this case will never be over until the person responsible for this crime is behind bars. The family of Azita Nikooei is posting a $10,000 reward for anyone who has information leading to the discovery of Azita Nikooei and the arrest of the person that is responsible. If you have any information, please contact Detective Caldas at (661) 326-3556.
“This is in an ongoing active investigation,” said Terry. “There are certain details I can not comment on. It would be inappropriate at this point.”
The case previously went to the District Attorney’s Office, but no charges were filed due to insufficient evidence.
There is still hope that one day the case will come to a close and there will be a resting place for Nikooei’s family and friends to remember her.
17 News was unable to reach Mowers for an interview.
Anyone with information on this case is urged to call Bakersfield Police Detective Caldas at 326-3556.

You can print a poster of Azita at http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200401955S.


Photo of Azita from her poster.