For the seventh consecutive day, the desperate search continues for 19-year-old Camila 'Cami' Mendoza Olmos, who vanished without a trace from her mother's driveway in a San Antonio suburb on the morning of Christmas Eve.
A Mysterious Disappearance on Christmas Eve
Cami, a community college student with ambitions to become an orthodontist, was last seen on a neighbour's doorbell camera at around 7am on Wednesday, 24 December. The footage showed her rummaging through her car while wearing baby blue pyjama shorts, a black North Face hoodie, and white trainers.
Her mother, Rosario Olmos, who was asleep at the time, initially thought her daughter had gone for a morning walk as was her habit. Alarm bells rang when Cami failed to return hours later, and her mother discovered she had left behind her phone and all personal belongings except for her car key.
On Monday, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar released new evidence: fuzzy dashcam footage from a passing vehicle that appears to show someone matching Cami's description walking alone on Wildhorse Parkway, a few blocks from her home, shortly after 7am.
Conflicting Theories and a Family's Anguish
Sheriff Salazar revealed that investigators are not ruling out suicide, disclosing that Cami had been depressed, struggled with 'undercurrents of suicidal ideation', and engaged in self-harm in the months before she disappeared. This followed a breakup with her boyfriend, Nathan Gonzales, in the autumn when he moved away for university.
Her father, Alfonso Mendoza, confirmed she had been feeling low after the split, had lost weight, and her grades had suffered. However, her mother Rosario strongly disputes the severity of these mental health challenges, insisting the breakup was mutual and respectful. 'People talk. But they don't know my daughter like I do,' she told the Daily Mail.
Volunteer searcher Frank Trevino, a 69-year-old who has helped find missing persons for 25 years, has a different theory. He suggests Cami's petite stature—5ft 4in and 110lbs—and her beauty may have made her a target. 'If they see a young woman who is alone... that makes her vulnerable to human trafficking,' he said. Sheriff Salazar confirmed this is among the active lines of inquiry.
A Community Searches Without Answers
The search, aided by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, has involved drones, search dogs, and cadets scouring fields, ditches, and creeks near her neighbourhood. Volunteers from groups like Search and Support San Antonio note that Cami's recent request to be re-baptised and her self-harm point to significant emotional distress.
Back at the family home, a poignant symbol of hope remains unopened under the Christmas tree: a gift bag containing a bottle of Lancôme's La Vie Est Belle perfume—'Life is Beautiful'—which Cami had specifically asked for.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office urges anyone with potential dashcam or surveillance footage to come forward by calling 210-335-6000 or emailing BCSOTips@bexar.org. As the days pass, her mother's plea grows more urgent: 'Just pray and spread the word because my girl really needs to know that we're looking for her.'
