A TEXAS teen disappeared without a trace on Christmas Eve, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions and heartbreak.
Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19, was last seen outside her San Antonio home around 7am on Wednesday.
This was just hours after speaking with her childhood best friend, Camila Estrella.
The two were chatting about plans to go dress shopping for Estrella’s boyfriend’s family event.
Before hanging up, Camila told Estrella, “Bye Cami, I love you.”
Those would be the last words Estrella would hear from her best friend.
“She was someone who was always full of love,” Estrella told the New York Post, adding they spoke every day.
“This is so random. We never expected this.”
The morning of her disappearance, a neighbour’s security camera captured Camila leaving her home, dressed in blue pyjama shorts, a black hoodie, and white shoes.
The footage shows her rummaging through her car for an unknown item before the camera cut off.
Camila’s car remained parked outside the house, suggesting she may have left on foot with only her car keys and possibly her driver’s licence.
Family and friends are struggling to comprehend what happened.
Camila’s mother, Rosario, woke up around 7.30am to find her daughter gone.
The two had shared a bed the night before and Rosario said she could feel when Camila got up.
By the time she awoke herself, Camila was nowhere to be found.
Around 9.30am, Rosario called Camila’s phone, only to discover it on her bed with no charge.
She quickly reached out to Camila’s boyfriend and her father – both of whom hadn’t seen her – and then called the police.
The search began in earnest with the deployment of sniffer dogs, but no trace of Camila has been found.
Authorities have since issued a missing person notice, describing her as “possibly endangered”.
They’ve confirmed no signs of foul play have been discovered yet, but the unusual circumstances surrounding her disappearance only deepen the mystery.
Camila’s aunt, Nancy Olmos, who took the family in when they moved from California to Texas in 2012, said: “This is not a Christmas for us. It’s a nightmare.”
She added, “It’s just not Cami. We knew something had happened.”
Close friend Isabela echoed the disbelief.
“It’s very out of the norm,” she said.
“She’s always the one checking on us, making sure we’re okay, always with a charged phone.”
The community in northwest Bexar County, known to be a human trafficking corridor, is on edge as they search for answers.
Camila’s disappearance has left her family and friends desperate for any information.
Her mother, still in shock, said: “I only ask God to please bring her back home. Bring her back to me.”
Camila’s father said: “It’s been real hard… please come home, daddy’s missing you.”
Authorities continue their search, hoping for a breakthrough as Camila remains missing, and her loved ones struggle with the uncertainty of her fate.
