A Texas family is desperately searching for Camila “Cami” Mendoza Olmos, who mysteriously vanished early on Christmas Eve.
The 19-year-old was last seen on Wednesday at 6:58AM outside her home in a San Antonio suburb, Daily Mail reported.
Surveillance footage showed the Northwest Vista Community College student wearing baby blue pajama shorts, a black hoodie, and white shoes as she appeared to rummage through the back of her car before the video abruptly ended. Moments later, she disappeared without a trace.
Her longtime best friend, Camila Estrella, recalled their final phone call the day before. “She said, ‘Bye Cami, I love you,’” Estrella told the New York Post. “She was someone that was just full of love… This is so random, we never expected this.”
Vanished without a trace
The teenager’s mother, Rosario Olmos, said she and her daughter had been sharing a bed when she felt Camila get up early that morning.
About 90 minutes later, Rosario woke up to find her daughter gone and her phone left behind on the bed with a dead battery.
“I called her cell phone, but the cell phone was there on the bed, and it was turned off,” Rosario told KENS. “I put it to charge and went out to look for her. I thought I would find her like other times, walking, and we would come home together.”
When she couldn't find Camila and confirmed her daughter hadn’t visited her boyfriend or father, she called the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
Officers arrived with scent-tracking dogs, but they were unable to locate the missing teen. “This was not a Christmas for us. It is a nightmare,” Camila’s aunt, Nancy Olmos, said. “We knew something happened. It’s just not Cami.”
Authorities have not confirmed any foul play, but the circumstances surrounding her disappearance have fueled concern.
Her car remained parked at the home, her phone was left behind, and she hasn't been seen or heard from since. The Bexar County Sheriff's Office considers her “possibly endangered.”
Family fears worst as search continues
Loved ones spent Christmas Day scouring the area where Camila was last seen, clinging to hope as hours turned into days.
Close friend Isabela said Olmos’s behavior was “very out of the norm.” She added, “She’s always been the one to stalk on us and like, ‘Why aren’t you doing this?’ She’d make sure that her phone’s always charged.”
Estrella, who had made plans with Camila to go dress shopping for her boyfriend’s family event, said she fears the trail could go cold.
“We have nothing to trace her with. We have nothing,” she said of the limited surveillance footage.
The teen's aunt Nancy has issued an emotional public plea on social media: “Please help me and my family continue to share this. We are still searching for my sweet angel, my niece, Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19 years old.”
She also shared that Camila had recently been baptized and was deeply religious. “She loves God with all her heart, and we are desperately looking for her.”
Appealing to families gathered over the holiday, Nancy wrote, “As a sister in Christ, I am humbly asking for one special gift this year - in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ please help us by sharing these posts and, most importantly, by lifting Camila up in your prayers.”
“We believe in God’s protection, and we have faith that Camila will come home,” she added.