Update-
The grieving mother of missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos repeated the same chilling four words as authorities recovered a body near the family’s San Antonio home on Tuesday.
Rosario Olmos was overcome with shock as sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents located human remains in a Bexar County field, nearly a week after the 19-year-old vanished during a Christmas Eve walk.
Rosario could only repeat the same four words — “so close to home” — as the discovery was made, according to family friend and search volunteer Frank Trevino.
Trevino said the shock was visible on her face, describing her as emotionally vacant in the moments after the remains were found, the Daily Mail reported.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the body discovered on Tuesday appeared to have been in the field for five to six days. After Camila’s disappearance, relatives also reported that a firearm was missing from the home.
A gun was found near the remains, though authorities have not yet confirmed whether it is the same weapon that was reported missing. According to the Daily Mail, the firearm recovered at the scene was a 9mm Luger pistol — the same type as the gun taken from the home — and the remains were said to match Olmos’ description, according to a source.
Olmos was last seen just before 7 a.m. outside her home in San Antonio, wearing pajama shorts and a hoodie. Since then, deputies and volunteers have been searching nonstop, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
According to CBS News, investigators are not ruling out the possibility that the case could take them outside the continental US. Authorities are considering several scenarios, including kidnapping, human trafficking, or the possibility that Olmos left voluntarily. Salazar noted that she recently went through a breakup, but described it as mutual and said there is no sign of foul play. People close to her are cooperating with investigators.
Salazar also confirmed that Olmos was not detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and emphasized that she is a US citizen.
“That was a personal concern,” he said per the New York Post. “So I had it checked to make sure there were no stops, no detentions, and that she’s not somewhere in a federal detention facility. That is something we needed to check.”
Police say security video shows Olmos outside her home looking through her car before the footage cuts off. Olmos had on light blue pajama shorts, a black hoodie and white shoes. She never went back inside and left the car behind, which has led investigators to believe she walked away on foot with only her car keys and possibly her driver’s license.
Her mother, Rosario, realized something was wrong when she woke up Wednesday morning and couldn’t find her. Olmos usually took an early morning walk, but by 9:30 a.m., her mother became worried and tried calling her — only to discover her phone on the bed with a dead battery.
Sheriff Salazar said it was “highly unusual” for Olmos, who lives an active lifestyle, to leave without her phone and not come home. He added that this is why deputies are working “around the clock” on the case.
Although he did not share specific details, Salazar said investigators are concerned that Olmos may be in “imminent danger.” Federal agencies — including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security — are now helping, and authorities are monitoring border crossings and possible international travel.
Olmos’ childhood best friend, Camila Estrella, said they spoke on Tuesday about plans to go dress shopping for an upcoming family event, according to the New York Post.
“She said, ‘Bye Cami, I love you,’” Estrella recalled. “She was someone that was just full of love,” she added. “This is so random, we never expected this.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at (210) 335-6000 or email the BCSO Missing Persons Unit at [email protected].
