‘Like A Nightmare’: California Mom Vanishes Days Before Daughter’s 11th Birthday

A California mother of three vanished just days before her daughter’s 11th birthday over the weekend and now her family says they are deeply concerned about her whereabouts.

Maya Millete, 39, has three children, aged 4, 9 and 11. Her family had been planning a birthday party set for this past weekend for her oldest child at Big Bear Lake, which is two and a half hours from their home near San Diego, ABC 10 News reported. But on Jan. 7, Millete stopped responding to her family’s texts. Now, a week later, they’ve still found no trace of her.

“It feels like a nightmare,” Millete’s brother-in-law, Richard Drouaillet, told the station.

At first, Millete’s family assumed she was taking some time to herself. Her car was still parked in the driveway and the bedroom door was locked, Mari Drouaillet told news station Balitang America. Family members thought she was inside the room, possibly blowing off steam after an argument she’d had with her husband the previous day.

But as hours passed and the door remained shut, her husband began to worry. He unlocked it and found the room empty, Drouaillet said.

Millete appears to have taken only her ID, her credit card, and possibly her phone, according to ABC 10. Her credit card has not been used since her disappearance, and all calls to her phone have gone straight to voicemail.

Larry Millete told the station that his wife has occasionally been known to need some space. But she’s never been gone more than a night, and she would never miss her daughter’s birthday, he said. She also hasn’t logged into work since she was last seen by her family.

Millete’s community has rallied behind her family amid her disappearance. A Facebook page created to help find her had gained over 2,400 followers as of Thursday, while a family-led search party scoured her neighborhood on Wednesday morning. But they’ve found no sign of the missing mom.

Police said they’re not currently treating this as a criminal investigation, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

“It’s a missing person case. We don’t have a reason to believe it’s anything other than that,” Lt. Miriam Foxx told the newspaper.

Millete’s family is desperate for news. They said they want her to know just how badly they want to hear from her, Mari Drouaillet told Balitang America.

“If you don’t want to be found, take your time. Just let us know that you’re OK,” she said.

Millete is 5’2” with brown hair, freckles and a wrist tattoo, according to a missing persons flyer. Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact police at (619) 691-5151.