It’s been over three weeks since 22-year old Jolissa Fuentes’ family last heard from her, and now police say what they thought might be a simple disappearance, has now turned into a criminal matter.
Jolissa was last captured on surveillance video at a gas station in Selma, Calif., during the early morning hours of Aug. 7, after getting into a disagreement with a friend at a party.
Now, 23 days later and with no reported signs of Jolissa in her hometown or on social media, the Selma Police Department confirms her vanishing is considered nefarious.
“Ms. Fuentes has been gone for a long time … And this is not normal behavior for Ms. Fuentes,” Police Chief Rudy Alcaraz said. “So, we are treating this as a criminal matter.”
Jolissa’s mom, Norma Nuñez, confirmed the YouTube volunteer dive team ‘Adventures With Purpose’ was unable to locate her daughter in the Pine Flat Dam or Avocado Lake in Piedra, Calif., where Jolissa’s cell phone was last pinged, during a search of the water last week.
“We can’t find her. There’s no car. There’s nothing,” Nuñez explains. “We think somebody took her.”
Jolissa’s mom says she has spent every day since Jolissa disappeared handing out missing person flyers at every gas station, rest stop, and truck stop.
“After work, I head out and just drive out in the country. Same thing with all our family. We keep doing that every day, until she is found,” says Nuñez. “Me and my husband, we have a Ford Focus, and we’re acting like it’s a GMC truck. We’re going through really rough terrain. We’re on the ground searching for Jolissa.”
In the meantime, Nuñez says a GoFundMe has been launched to help ease the financial burden of hiring a private investigator to also help with the search for Jolissa.
Hoever, until Jolissa is found, Nuñez has a message for her missing daughter: “We’re going to find you, baby. You just keep praying to God to give you the strength that you need to get up and go where you need to go, Jolissa. But we will find you. We will never stop looking for you. We love you and we need you home.”
Jolissa was last seen driving her silver four-door 2011 Hyundai Accent with California license plate #8MPU766.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to her whereabouts.
