Parking brake shoes won't release loose rotor - pulls rotor back into place when released

Hi,

Is there a way to kind of retract the parking brake shoes to allow me to remove the rotor? I think the shoes are stuck in a groove inside the rotor.

I tried the parking brake adjuster star, but when I look it seems the notches in the adjuster are missing or inaccessible (maybe the parking brake adjuster is installed wrong, or adjusted so much that the star adjusting part is moved away too much?).

Here is a picture of the parking brake adjuster - I tried grabbing the little nubs there but no luck:

But I didn't see any threads or star extending from the adjuster on this rear passenger side.

Compare with the rear driver's side, where it's easy to adjust the parking brake shoes because the star extends out and you can see the thread:


Why can't I see the star extensions or the threads on the passenger side? How can I remove the rotor when the parking brake shoes are not letting go? They are loose enough to rotate and move the rotor back and forth, it's just that the rotor is not coming off and feels like the shoes are stuck in a groove there.

I'm stuck and not sure how to proceed, because I planned to just loosen the adjuster to get the shoes to retract. But now what?

The rotor is loose and can rotate and slide in and out, ready to remove, but when I attempt to pull the rotor off I can hear the typical squeaks of the parking brake springs and the rotor comes out several mm and stops. When I release the rotor, the rotor is pulled back in place as if the parking brake shoes are pulling it back with their springs.

My theory is there is a groove in the area of the rotor where the parking brake shoes ride, and the shoes are stuck in that groove so any movement is just stretching the parking brake springs/clips but can't get the shoes to come out of the groove in the rotor.