LAWMEN SEEK REMAINS IN BACKYARD DIG VALENCIA WOMAN MISSING 15 YEARS.

Byline: CAROL ROCK Staff Writer

VALENCIA -- Pursuing a 15-year-old mystery, homicide detectives and coroner's officials jackhammered pavement and dug holes Saturday in the backyard of a man whose wife disappeared in 1991.

A search warrant gave investigators authority to look for the remains of Ann Racz in the Fortuna Drive backyard, where sonar tests indicated remains might have been buried. But they found nothing.

``This is part of an ongoing investigation,'' sheriff's homicide Lt. Joe Hartshorne told reporters who gathered Saturday outside the house. ``Our belief is that Ms. Racz is probably dead, and the sonar has indicated that there might be remains somewhere in the yard.''

Racz -- then 43 -- went missing April 22, 1991, after dropping her children off for a visit with their father, John Racz, from whom she was separated. Her car was found three days later in an airport shuttle parking lot in Van Nuys.

John Racz, a former Los Angeles County sheriff's sergeant, was at the home as the officials executed the warrant. He did not speak to reporters.

Daughter Katelin Racz, 21, said her father was upset at the intrusion, but that she was dealing with her own conflicting feelings.

``I was 6 years old when it happened, so I don't remember much,'' said Katelin Racz, who no longer lives at home. ``They're finding out more, talking with people. I don't know if my dad was involved, but we were a family and it was a horrible thing to happen.''

Her father had recently landscaped the backyard for her brother Glenn's wedding, which is scheduled for August, she said. Authorities spent about five hours digging Saturday. A Labrador retriever trained to sniff for dead bodies made several trips into the backyard, but handler Joe D'Allura said the dog hadn't positively identified any particular spot.

Hartshorne said John Racz has always been a suspect, but that without a body, it's hard to prove that Ann Racz is dead.

``Absolutely he's a person of interest,'' the detective said. ``Missing persons cases are strange in that there is no proof that anything happened. Sometimes people resurface, but Ms. Racz has had no contact with her family or made any financial transactions that would lead us to believe she was still alive.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Homicide detectives and coroner's officials inspect a backyard dig at a home in Valencia on Saturday. They were seeking remains in a 15-year-old missing persons case.

Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News