PHOENIX — The investigation into Angela Tramonte’s death is over.
The Phoenix Police Department closed the case — without a public announcement or any charges — exactly one month after the 31-year-old Massachusetts woman was found dead in the backyard of a home at the base of Camelback Mountain, according to copy of the investigation obtained by ABC15 through a source.
MYSTERY ON THE MOUNTAIN: Retracing Angela Tramonte's steps
Tramonte’s death on July 30 grabbed the nation’s attention.
ABC15 previously revealed she had gone hiking with Phoenix officer Dario Dizdar, who she met online and came to visit for the first time.
A medical examination found that Tramonte died from environmental heat exposure and the manner of death was an accident.
Detectives never considered Dizdar anything more than a witness in the case.
But Tamonte’s family and friends have sharply criticized Phoenix police since her death.
They believe the department has failed to thoroughly investigate what happened and is protecting Dizdar — an officer on Maricopa County’s “Brady” list. The family has hired their own investigator and is considering legal action.
According to Phoenix’s official report, GPS data from their cell phones show the pair separated high up on the mountain. As she descended alone, she got lost and ended up in the neighborhood. ABC15 separately spoke to witnesses who said they spotted Tramonte descended the trail alone.
In the backyard of the home, Tramonte was found by officers with her phone tucked in her sports bra, according to the police investigation.
But from the time of their separation to the time she was found dead, she never made any calls or texts.
The investigation reveals other surprising new details.
Dizdar also got lost on his way down the mountain and ended up in the same neighborhood as Tramonte.
Surveillance cameras captured Dizdar alone in the backyard of one of the highest homes on the side of Camelback. The house was four houses — about a quarter mile away -- from the home where Tramonte was found.
Dizdar then took an Uber back to the parking lot.
Phoenix’s report also shows that officers got in touch with Tramonte’s friends during the search and had them use the “Find My Friends” application to locate her phone.
The officers got two separate “pings” for the address where Tramonte was found but apparently didn’t fully search at or around the home after the first alert.
She was found after a second ping at the address roughly 40 minutes later.
ABC15 compiled the following timeline of key details and events. The entries are pulled from officers’ written reports and some information provided by Tramonte’s friends and family. ABC15 and Tramonte’s family have not yet received any video, audio, or GPS-related records from the Phoenix Police Department.
[Some entries are written in all capitol letters because that’s how Phoenix police reports are entered. Those portions are directly copied and pasted from Phoenix reports. There are some time discrepancies in Phoenix’s various reports / timelines]
TIMELINE OF DETAILS / EVENTS
July 29, 2021
Angela Tramonte flew in to meet Dario Dizdar in person for the first time. The two met online. Detectives wrote that data obtained from Tramonte’s phone shows she was searching for information about hiking Camelback.
July 30, 2021
8:51 a.m.
“DARIO AND ANGELA SPENT THE NIGHT AT HIS APARTMENT AND WENT TO BREAKFAST AT 0851 HOURS AT SNOOZE A.M. EATERY IN DOWNTOWN PHOENIX. DURING BREAKFAST, ANGELA TALKED ABOUT HOW SHE WANTED TO HIKE CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN. SHE BEGAN CONDUCTING INTERNET SEARCHES TO SEE IF THE TRAIL WAS OPEN AND PROVIDED THE ADDRESS TO THE ECHO CANYON TRAILHEAD AT 0937. HE REPORTED HE DID NOT WANT TO HIKE CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN AND SUGGESTED THE TRAIL AT NORTH 16TH STREET AND THUNDERBIRD, OR THUNDERBIRD MOUNTAIN. MUCH OF THE BREAKFAST EVENT WAS CONFIRMED BY RECOVERED SURVEILLANCE VIDEO AND A REVIEW OF THE CELLULAR TELEPHONE DATA FOR DARIO AND ANGELA.”
9:53 a.m.
DARIO AND ANGELA DROVE TO THE ECHO CANYON TRAILHEAD LOCATED AT 4925 EAST MCDONALD DRIVE AND ARRIVED AT 0953 HOURS. ANGELA TOOK VIDEOS OF THE MOUNTAIN AND TRAIL FROM THE PARKING LOT. THEY BEGAN THEIR HIKE AT 1000 HOURS. AT 1010 HOURS, THEY ARRIVED AT THE PRAYING MONK LOOKOUT ON THE TRAIL. BETWEEN THE START OF THE HIKE AND ARRIVING AT PRAYING MONK, ANGELA TOOK SEVEN PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS OF THEIR HIKE. DARIO TOOK ONE PHOTOGRAPH.
10:36 a.m.
AT 1036 HOURS, (A WITNESS) AND A GROUP OF FRIENDS ARE HIKING ON THE TRAIL AHEAD OF DARIO AND ANGELA. ONE OF THE INDIVIDUALS TAKES A PHOTOGRAPH WHICH SHOWS NEITHER DARIO OR ANGELA TO HAVE WATER IN THEIR POSSESSION. AT THE TIME THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS CAPTURED, DARIO AND ANGELA COMPLETED APPROXIMATELY THREE- QUARTERS OF THE HIKE TO THE SUMMIT. DARIO REPORTED DURING HIS INTERVIEW ANGELA DID NOT WANT TO CONTINUE BECAUSE THE UPCOMING TRAIL APPEARED VERY HARD (BOULDERS AREA). SHE ASKED HIM TO CONTINUE TO THE TOP TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR HER TO POST ON HER INSTAGRAM. SHE STATED SHE WOULD HEAD BACK DOWN THE TRAIL AND MEET DARIO AT THE CAR. HE REPORTED ANGELA EXHIBITED NO SIGNS OF EXHAUSTION OR DISTRESS WHICH WOULD LEAD HIM TO BELIEVE SHE WAS UNABLE TO MAKE IT BACK TO THE PARKING LOT. HE STATED IF HE WOULD HAVE OBSERVED ANY SIGNS OF EXHAUSTION OR DISTRESS, HE WOULD HAVE NEVER LEFT HER ALONE TO WALK BACK DOWN THE TRAIL TO THE CAR.
*The police report doesn’t state whether Dizdar was asked if he provided Tramonte with his car keys.
10:53 a.m.
DARIO CONTINUED TO ASCEND THE TRAIL, REACHING THE SUMMIT AT 1053 HOURS. HE TOOK NINE PHOTOGRAPHS AND BEGAN DOWN THE TRAIL.
*A separate timeline compiled by Phoenix police states that Dizdar reached the summit at 11:02 a.m. based on his phone’s GPS data.
10:58 a.m.
DARIO BEGAN TO DESCEND THE TRAIL AT APPROXIMATELY 1058 HOURS. AT 1115 HOURS, DARIO DESCENDED OF TRAIL TOWARD THE ECHO CANYON BOWL NEIGHBORHOOD NORTH OF THE TRAIL. HE CONTINUED DOWN THE HILLSIDE TOWARDS THE HOMES AND AT 1127 HOURS, DARIO SENT A TEXT MESSAGE TO ANGELA THAT "HE IS LOST." AT 1139 HOURS, DARIO WAS OBSERVED ON SURVEILLANCE VIDEO, ALONE, WALKING THROUGH THE BACKYARD OF THE RESIDENCE LOCATED AT 5623 NORTH 52ND PLACE. HE CONTINUED TO WALK THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND WAS OBSERVED WALKING IN FRONT OF THE RESIDENCE LOCATED AT 5303 EAST SAN MIGUEL AVENUE.
*A separate timeline compiled by Phoenix police states that Dizdar descended and got off trail at 11:20 a.m.
11:09 a.m.
ANGELA BEGAN DESCENDING THE TRAIL, HOWEVER, AT 1038 HOURS, SHE DESCENDED OFF TRAIL TOWARDS THE ECHO CANYON BOWL NEIGHBORHOOD NORTH OF THE TRAIL. SHE CONTINUED DOWN THE HILLSIDE TOWARDS THE HOMES, SOUTH OF THE RESIDENTIAL YARDS UNTIL SHE REACHED 5200 EAST SOLANO DRIVE AT APPROXIMATELY 1109 HOURS. ANGELA REMAINED AT THIS LOCATION UNTIL THE TIME OF HER DISCOVERY AND NO PHONE CALLS, TEXT MESSAGES, OR COMMUNICATIONS WERE MADE FROM HER CELLULAR TELEPHONE IN HER POSSESSION.
*Regular hikers find it unlikely that Tramonte veered off trail at 10:38 a.m., less than two minutes after the pair separated. ABC15 hiked to the location of their split. It’s near the top of the mountain and drone video shows a sharp descent from the location without a clear line to the neighborhood. A fire department search team member believed Tramonte got off trail much lower on the mountain, according to statements in the police report.
11:48 a.m.
AT APPROXIMATELY 1148 HOURS, DARIO USED THE MAP ON HIS CELLULAR TELEPHONE TO LOOK UP HIS LOCATION IN RELATION TO THE PARKING LOT WHERE HE WAS TO MEET ANGELA. HE LEARNED IT WAS A TWENTY MINUTE WALK, AND USED THE UBER APPLICATION TO SEE IF A CAR WAS CLOSE, AND HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE. HE HAILED AN UBER AND WAS PICKED UP AT 1150 HOURS, RETURNING TO THE PARKING LOT OF THE ECHO CANYON TRAILHEAD, ARRIVING AT 1154 HOURS.
*A separate timeline compiled by Phoenix police states that Dizdar called an Uber at 11:52 a.m. and arrives at the parking lot at 11:54 a.m. — the same time above.
11:54 a.m. - 12:52 p.m.
DARIO ARRIVED AT THE PARKING LOT AND BEGAN LOOKING FOR ANGELA. HE WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE ANGELA AND WALKED PARTIALLY UP THE TRAIL TOWARDS THE PRAYING MONK LOOKOUT… HE ATTEMPTED TO CALL ANGELA MULTIPLE TIMES VIA INSTAGRAM, NORMAL VOICE CALLING, AND SENT TEXT MESSAGES BETWEEN 1224 AND 1252 HOURS.
12:52 p.m.
Dizdar speaks to a park ranger. He then calls 911. An official search begins at 1:00 p.m. Air units are called in at approximately 1:10 p.m.
3:31 p.m.
Officer J. Reid is in touch with a friend of Tramonte who is sending him “pings” with Angela’s approximate locations.
INITIALLY THE PING LOCATION, I RECEIVED AT 1531 HOURS, SHOWED NEAR 5318 EAST MCDONALD DRIVE, WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE AN EMPTY DIRT LOT WITH NO SIGNS OF ANGELA. AT 1539 HOURS, A SECOND PING CHANGED LOCATIONS TO THE WEST SIDE OF 5200 EAST SOLANO DRIVE, WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE LOCATION ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. OFFICER SMOUSE #10716 AND I BEGAN HIKING THE MOUNTAIN AND ATTEMPTING TO CONTACT HOMEOWNERS IN THE AREA. WE WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. AT APPROXIMATELY 1618 HOURS, ANOTHER PING SHOWED HER LOCATION NEAR 5302 EAST PALO VERDE DRIVE. OFFICER SMOUSE AND I CHECKED THE PROPERTY WITH NO SIGN OF ANGELA. AT APPROXIMATELY 1629 HOURS, ANOTHER PING SHOWED BACK NEAR THE 5200 EAST SOLANO DRIVE ADDRESS. OFFICER SMOUSE AND I RETURNED TO THE PROPERTY AND BEGAN CHECKING THE AREA AGAIN. AT APPROXIMATELY 1634 HOURS, OFFICER SMOUSE LOCATED ANGELA NEAR THE REAR WALKEWAY [SIC] OF THE RESIDENCE. ANGELA WAS LYING ON HER BACK WITH HER ARMS STRAIGHT OUT FROM HER SIDES AND HER LEGS SLIGHTLY BENT. ANGELEA'S [SIC] BODY DISPLAYS SIGNS OF LIVIDITY AND RIGOR MORTIS HAD BEGUN. HER SKIN WAS PURPLISH IN COLOR AND HER MUSCLES WERE STIFF. OFFICER SMOUSE BEGAN CPR CHEST COMPRESSIONS.
4:43 p.m.
AT APPROXIMATELY 1643, ANGELA WAS PRONOUNCED DECEASED BY THE PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT.
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Contact ABC15 Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
