Curtis and Starr Hill. Starr Hill has been missing since May 2005, and Sheriff Rod Mitchell said Curtis Hill refuses to be interviewed by sheriff's investigators. Photo courtesy of April Robinson.

This is the second installment of a two-part article on the 2005 disappearance of Starr Hill and the investigation of her case.

MIDDLETOWN – The California Department of Justice has a Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit that is meant to assist law enforcement agencies in finding people reported missing.

The problem is vast.

Between 2005 and 2006, there were about 80,000 adult missing persons cases reported around the state, of which nearly 66,000 were believed to be people who had disappeared voluntarily, according to Department of Justice statistics.

Overall, the Department of Justice reports about 25,000 missing persons cases around the state are active.

Included in the database is Starr Maurie Hill of Middletown, who is listed as a “voluntary missing adult.”

Hill was reportedly last seen on May 18, 2005, when her husband Curtis Hill said she walked away from their Western Mine Road home in Middletown following an argument.

Few physical clues in Hill's case have been found, and with Sheriff Rod Mitchell reporting that Curtis Hill has refused to be interviewed by investigators, the case has apparently hit a dead end.

Curtis Hill did not return several phone calls Lake County News placed to his Middletown home seeking comment for this story.

Starr Hill's daughter, April Robinson, holds out hope that someone with information in the case will come forward, although she said she and her family believe her mother is dead.

A daughter's concerns

When Robinson said she last spoke with her mother on May 17, 2005, she said Starr “sounded normal.”

“She just expressed that she and Curtis were arguing and she was unhappy,” said Robinson.

Robinson said “the idea had been tossed around” that Starr might leave Curtis.

“That was something that was discussed a lot, because they fought a lot, but not to the extent she was going to pick up and leave and never come back,” she said.

Robinson said she doesn't know if Curtis Hill knew Starr was talking about possibly leaving the marriage.

But she does believe he knows what happened to her mother.

“I believe that they were in a big fight and at equal parts in the fight,” said Robinson, and that “something bad happened” which led to Curtis Hill's refusal to speak to authorities.

Searching for the missing pieces

Curtis Hill's silence is troubling to Mitchell, who said Hill's refusal to be interviewed by sheriff's detectives has created a significant gap in the investigation.

All of the followup work on the investigation that Det. Corey Paulich and his investigators could do has been done, said Mitchell.

“The key piece of the puzzle that is missing is an interview with Curtis,” said Mitchell.

In the initial stages of the investigation, said Mitchell, Hill didn't agree to an interview; however, he was involved with filing the report of Starr's disappearance.

As the case developed, Mitchell said Hill initially agreed to an interview, then withdrew, then offered to come in with his attorney. He eventually withdrew that offer as well, said Mitchell, before moving to Hawaii.

Since then, Mitchell said Hill has made no attempt to cooperate with the sheriff's investigation. “I remain troubled that he refuses to be interviewed,” he said.

Mitchell continued, “It's unfair for all parties involved for him to withhold an interview opportunity because everybody who cares about Starr wants him to come forward and be interviewed, and it's the only way we can do our jobs, is to proceed with that obvious missing piece of the puzzle.”

The last time Robinson said she had any contact with Curtis Hill or his immediate family was when his son-in-law “crashed” a candlelight vigil being held for her mother at the Western Mine Road property in December 2005.

Since her mother's disappearance, Robinson said she's asked Curtis “several times if I can have any of her belongings and he told me no.” That includes, she said, family pictures and heirlooms.

Hill appeared to be completely out of the picture, and indeed in another state, until the first week of May, when Robinson said he came into the business where she's employed.

The two hadn't seen each other since June of 2005, Robinson said. The reunion wasn't a good one.

Robinson said Hill threatened to sue her for libel, and accused her of lying to authorities and the media about the circumstances surrounding her mother's disappearance. Robinson said Hill stated that he had never claimed he and Starr had fought before she disappeared, a claim that contradicts a discussion he had with this reporter in May 2005.

Finally, Robinson said she left work because of the confrontation, but that Hill remained, with her coworkers reporting later that he had told them she was a liar who they shouldn't employ.

With Hill back in the county, Mitchell said his invitation to Hill for an interview with detectives is still open. “Our commitment to interviewing him has not waned,” Mitchell said. “We would hope he would change his mind and come in and be interviewed and provide us with the details of everything he knows about Starr's disappearance.”

Starr's case doesn't have to be a cold case, Mitchell said. He believes that, based on Curtis Hill's knowledge, “there are things that could turn to workable leads.”

In the end, Mitchell said Curtis Hill owes it to Starr's friends and families to tell authorities what he knows.

Seeking closure

Speaking of her mother, Robinson said, “She loved her grandkids, she loved her kids and her family.”

Robinson said she, her grandmother, her sister and uncles all want to know what happened to Starr, who they believe is dead.

Starr's mother, Leona Schneider, is very ill, said Robinson, and she continues to struggle with her daughter's disappearance.

“She has her good days and her bad days, the same and I do,” said Robinson. “We talk about it a lot still. She cries a lot. She still wants to know what happened.”

Recalling her mother, Robinson said she loved to cook and try new foods, she was proud of the new business she and Curtis were starting in Hawaii and liked to show pictures of their work. Starr liked to garden and have fun, was outgoing and liked meeting new people.

What does she hope for? Robinson said what she hopes for is “closure.”

“At this point, I don't even know that what happened is relevant,” she said.

“Just finding her and putting her to rest in a proper place and knowing that I could go see her and visit her grave would be enough for me at this point,” she added.

Robinson said she continues to actively work with the sheriff's department, checking in regularly with Paulich.

“I think the sheriff's department, at this point, have done what they can,” she said. “They've been very helpful and very supportive of me and my family and our needs.”

Until someone comes forward with new information in the case, said Robinson, there isn't much more the sheriff can do.

But she said “just to keep hope” is important. She said she's keeping faith that time will reveal the truth, that someone will come forward and tell her what happened to her mother on a day in May two years ago.

“I also pray that whoever brought harm to her, that I have the strength to forgive them for that,” she said.

If anyone has information about Starr Hill or her disappearance, they are urged to call Det. Corey Paulich at the Lake County Sheriff's Office, 262-4200.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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