Overview

Full name: Kimberly Cozart, also known as Kimberly Harper

Age at disappearance: 14 based on her reported birth date; 15 according to the Sheriff’s Department’s case description

Date last seen: February 1977; February 1 is used in missing-person databases, but the precise last-seen date is not independently established

Last known location: Banner Grade Road, Julian, San Diego County, California

Date of birth: July 7, 1962

Case classification: Endangered missing person

Current status: Unsolved; remains missing

Investigating agency: San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Homicide Detail

NamUs reference: MP29117

Main circumstances: Kimberly disappeared in 1977, approximately two years after her mother. Her sister reported both disappearances on December 15, 1995.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Kimberly Cozart: The Unsolved 1977 Disappearance of a California Teenager in Julian

In February 1977, a teenage girl named Kimberly Cozart disappeared from the mountain community of Julian in San Diego County, California. Nearly five decades later, her whereabouts remain unknown, and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance have never been publicly established.

Kimberly, also known as Kimberly Harper, was last known to be living along Banner Grade Road. Her case is particularly troubling because her mother, Joyce Elizabeth Harper, had disappeared approximately two years earlier. Both disappearances were reported to authorities on December 15, 1995, many years after the women were last seen.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department continues to identify Kimberly as a missing person and has sought information through its Homicide Detail. Despite the involvement of homicide investigators, there has been no publicly verified determination that Kimberly was murdered.

Her disappearance remains an unresolved missing-person case.

Case Summary

• Full name: Kimberly Cozart, also known as Kimberly Harper
• Age at disappearance: 14 based on her reported birth date; 15 according to the Sheriff’s Department’s case description
• Date last seen: February 1977; February 1 is used in missing-person databases, but the precise last-seen date is not independently established
• Last known location: Banner Grade Road, Julian, San Diego County, California
• Date of birth: July 7, 1962
• Case classification: Endangered missing person
• Current status: Unsolved; remains missing
• Investigating agency: San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Homicide Detail
• NamUs reference: MP29117
• Main circumstances: Kimberly disappeared in 1977, approximately two years after her mother. Her sister reported both disappearances on December 15, 1995.

Sources: San Diego County Sheriff’s Department; The Charley Project; Uncovered case profile.

Kimberly Cozart’s Background and Life in Julian, California

Kimberly Cozart was born on July 7, 1962. According to the available missing-person records, she lived in Julian, an unincorporated community in the mountains of eastern San Diego County.

At the time she disappeared, Kimberly was living along Banner Grade Road, a mountainous route connecting Julian with the surrounding backcountry.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department described Kimberly as a white teenage girl with long reddish-brown hair and brown eyes. Its case information lists her height as approximately five feet and her weight as approximately 100 pounds.

Other missing-person resources, including The Charley Project, list her height as five feet three inches and her weight as approximately 120 pounds. These discrepancies are present in the published records and should not be interpreted as evidence of a change in her appearance.

There is also a discrepancy concerning her age. Sheriff’s Department materials describe Kimberly as 15, but her reported birth date of July 7, 1962, would make her 14 in February 1977.

Very little additional biographical information about Kimberly has been publicly documented. Verified details about her school, friendships, daily routines, and personal interests have not been established in the available case records.

The limited information makes it difficult to reconstruct her final known days or understand the circumstances that preceded her disappearance.

The Disappearance in February 1977

Kimberly was last known to be in Julian sometime during February 1977.

Missing-person databases commonly identify February 1, 1977, as her disappearance date. However, publicly available accounts generally describe her as having disappeared sometime during that month rather than documenting a specific witnessed encounter on February 1.

No verified public account establishes precisely where Kimberly was last seen, who last spoke with her, or what she was doing immediately before she vanished.

The available Sheriff’s Department information does not describe a confirmed vehicle, traveling companion, destination, or encounter associated with her disappearance.

There is likewise no verified public information establishing whether Kimberly left her residence voluntarily, was taken against her will, experienced an accident, or encountered another emergency.

These possibilities remain unresolved, not established explanations.

The December 1995 missing-person report

One of the most significant documented aspects of Kimberly’s case is the length of time between her disappearance and the official report.

According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Kimberly’s sister reported her missing on December 15, 1995.

That was approximately 18 years after Kimberly disappeared.

The available public record does not explain why the report was made so many years later. It would be inappropriate to attribute the delay to any particular individual, family circumstance, or alleged wrongdoing without reliable supporting evidence.

The reporting delay also creates an important investigative challenge: the passage of time can make it more difficult to locate witnesses, reconstruct movements, and recover physical evidence.

Source: Sheriff’s official case summary.

The Disappearance of Kimberly’s Mother, Joyce Elizabeth Harper

Kimberly’s disappearance is closely associated with another unresolved California missing-person case: that of her mother, Joyce Elizabeth Harper.

According to The Charley Project, Joyce disappeared in 1975 while living in Potrero, another community in San Diego County.

Joyce was approximately 31 years old when she disappeared. She has also been identified in missing-person records by the names Joyce Gann and Vivian Ann Maddux.

Kimberly disappeared approximately two years later.

On December 15, 1995, the same date Kimberly was reported missing, a daughter also reported Joyce’s disappearance.

The two cases share several verified circumstances: a mother-daughter relationship, disappearances in San Diego County during the 1970s, and missing-person reports filed on the same date.

However, no publicly verified evidence establishes that the two disappearances resulted from the same event, involved the same person, or were otherwise criminally connected.

The Charley Project specifically notes that it is unclear whether the disappearances are related.

Both cases remain unresolved.

Investigation History and Available Evidence

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department investigation

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is the primary investigating agency in Kimberly’s case.

The department has published a missing-person notice seeking information about her disappearance, with the Sheriff’s Homicide Detail and San Diego County Crime Stoppers identified as points of contact.

The involvement of the Homicide Detail is important, but it does not establish that a homicide occurred. Law enforcement agencies may assign longstanding or suspicious disappearances to detectives who investigate homicides and cold cases.

The Sheriff’s public summary confirms Kimberly’s disappearance, last known residential area, physical description, and reporting date.

It does not publicly describe a confirmed crime scene, recovered weapon, eyewitness account of an abduction, or forensic finding establishing a cause of death.

NamUs and missing-person documentation

Kimberly’s case is associated with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, commonly known as NamUs.

Her listed NamUs identification number is MP29117.

NamUs records are intended to support the investigation and resolution of missing-person and unidentified-person cases. They can help investigators compare information and coordinate across jurisdictions.

The existence of a NamUs record does not establish that a missing person has died or that unidentified remains have been matched to the case.

Kimberly is also documented by The Charley Project, which classifies her as endangered missing.

These resources have helped preserve identifying information about her disappearance and make the case accessible to the public.

DNA evidence and forensic testing

Historical discussions on Websleuths reference NamUs information indicating that DNA samples associated with Kimberly’s family were submitted and testing was completed.

Those discussions include references to familial DNA from Kimberly’s sister and to DNA-related entries in both Kimberly’s and Joyce’s missing-person records.

However, these are historical secondary accounts. The available material does not independently establish the present status of the DNA evidence or whether any comparison produced an investigative lead.

No publicly verified DNA match, genetic-genealogy identification, or identification of remains connected to Kimberly was located.

It would therefore be inaccurate to characterize DNA testing as having solved or substantially advanced the case.

Searches, witnesses, and physical evidence

The publicly available case summaries contain few details about specific investigative activities.

No verified public documentation was located establishing the dates or results of organized ground searches, forensic searches, or excavation efforts directly related to Kimberly’s disappearance.

Similarly, no publicly confirmed witness statement identifies the circumstances of her final movements.

The absence of these details from public reporting does not mean investigators never pursued them. It means that the available sources do not provide sufficient documentation to describe them as established facts.

Suspects, arrests, and criminal proceedings

No officially identified suspect or person of interest in Kimberly’s disappearance was located in the verified public case information.

No arrest, criminal charge, conviction, or court proceeding specifically resolving her disappearance was identified.

There is also no verified public announcement that Kimberly’s remains have been recovered or positively identified.

Her case remains a missing-person investigation rather than a publicly established homicide.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

Several questions remain central to understanding Kimberly’s disappearance. These are areas of uncertainty, not conclusions about what happened.

Were Kimberly’s and Joyce’s disappearances connected?

The disappearance of a mother in 1975 followed by the disappearance of her teenage daughter in 1977 is an unusual sequence.

The family relationship and timing make the possibility of a connection a reasonable investigative question.

Nevertheless, there is no publicly confirmed evidence demonstrating that the two disappearances were caused by the same circumstances.

A connection should not be assumed solely because the missing individuals were related.

What happened along Banner Grade Road?

Kimberly’s last known residential location is an important geographic detail.

But public records do not establish that she disappeared directly from that road, that an incident occurred at her residence, or that a particular route was involved.

Without a verified final sighting, the exact location where Kimberly went missing remains uncertain.

Why were the disappearances reported in 1995?

The approximately 18-year gap between Kimberly’s disappearance and her missing-person report is among the most consequential unresolved aspects of the case.

Publicly available official information confirms the reporting date but does not establish the reason for the delay.

Understanding who knew of Kimberly’s whereabouts during the intervening years, if anyone, could be significant. However, no verified public account answers those questions.

Could unidentified remains provide answers?

Comparisons between missing-person cases and unidentified human remains are an established investigative practice.

Community discussions have explored possible comparisons involving Kimberly, but such discussions are speculative unless investigators or forensic authorities confirm a match.

No identification connecting unidentified remains to Kimberly was verified.

Online theories, including suggestions involving other criminal cases, should not be treated as established leads without official confirmation.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates — October 2026

A review of publicly accessible Sheriff’s Department information, missing-person databases, cold-case archives, and community coverage did not locate a confirmed investigative breakthrough resolving Kimberly’s disappearance.

The following developments are documented, but they should be distinguished from new investigative findings.

June 2015: Missing-person database activity

Historical Websleuths discussions record the entry of Kimberly’s case into NamUs on June 15, 2015.

The same discussions reference subsequent updates concerning family DNA information.

These historical database activities demonstrate efforts to document the case, but they do not establish a forensic identification or a successful investigative result.

March 15, 2017: Doe Network listing

The Doe Network’s official update archive confirms that Kimberly’s missing-person case was added on March 15, 2017, under reference 3096DFCA.

This was an awareness and documentation development, not an announcement that new evidence had been discovered.

April 6, 2023: Uncovered case profile

Uncovered’s Kimberly Cozart profile displays an update date of April 6, 2023.

The profile continues to describe her February 1977 disappearance and the circumstances of the December 1995 report.

That date represents a case-profile update, not a verified police breakthrough.

July 11, 2025: Community awareness coverage

The independent website Cold Cases of the Golden Coast published an article about Kimberly on July 11, 2025.

The article discussed inconsistencies in published age and physical-description information and summarized the longstanding missing-person case.

This was retrospective coverage, not an official announcement of new evidence.

Current official case status

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department continues to maintain a public case page for Kimberly within its cold-case homicide and missing-person investigation resources.

The page requests information from the public and provides contact information for the Sheriff’s Homicide Detail and Crime Stoppers.

As of October 18, 2026, no publicly confirmed recent arrest, identification of remains, DNA breakthrough, or other investigative resolution was located.

The continued availability of the Sheriff’s case page should not be interpreted as evidence of a newly opened investigation or a recent discovery.

Conclusion: A Disappearance That Still Needs Answers

Kimberly Cozart disappeared from Julian, California, in February 1977. She was a teenager whose last known residence was along Banner Grade Road, and whose disappearance was not formally reported until December 1995.

Her mother, Joyce Elizabeth Harper, had disappeared approximately two years earlier. Although the relationship between their cases raises important questions, no publicly verified explanation connects the two disappearances.

Decades later, fundamental questions remain unanswered: What happened to Kimberly? Where did she go? Did anyone witness her final movements? And does information still exist that could help investigators establish her fate?

Kimberly’s case deserves continued attention based on verified facts rather than speculation.

Anyone who knew Kimberly or Joyce during the 1970s, lived near their former residences, or possesses information about their whereabouts is encouraged to contact the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Information that may have seemed insignificant at the time could help investigators reconstruct events.

The Sheriff’s Homicide Detail can be reached at 858-285-6330 during business hours. San Diego County Crime Stoppers accepts tips at 888-580-8477.

Kimberly Cozart remains missing. Her case remains unsolved, and the search for reliable answers continues.