A 35-year-old woman from Utah who vanished in California more than three weeks ago has been found safe, authorities announced.
Danielle Staley had last been seen with a group of people just before 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 6 at Rio Del Mar State Beach, about 10 miles east of Santa Cruz, officials with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said.
In a Nov. 9 news release, officials said, “New information indicates she may be at risk, and foul play may be involved.”
Investigators said the 35-year-old arrived in California’s Central Coast with her boyfriend, 62-year-old Steven Nunez, near the end of October and was staying in a camper van near the beach.
Her belongings were later found on the beach, though there was no sign of her.
Though authorities said there was no indication that she got in the ocean the night she disappeared, sheriff’s investigators repeatedly flew drones along the coastline looking for any sign of her.
In an interview with Utah television station ABC4, April Miller, Staley’s mother, said her daughter and Nunez had an on-again, off-again relationship for about 13 years.
“We’ve been concerned for years,” she said of the 62-year-old, describing him as “extremely abusive” moments before Staley’s brother chimed in and called him “manipulative.”
Nunez denied any part in his girlfriend’s disappearance and said he offered to take a polygraph test.
Speaking with ABC4, the 62-year-old said he did not attend the beach bonfire because he’s asthmatic but instead fell asleep in the van during the festivities.
“When I woke up, she wasn’t there, so I’m saying there’s cameras, there’s a whole private subdivision that isn’t nothing but cameras, and there has to be some video surveillance of something, cars going in and out between about 11 o’clock and six in the morning,” he told the outlet.
Investigators in Santa Cruz County had interviewed Nunez multiple times and searched his van for evidence of the missing woman.
Nunez, who was never named as a suspect, said he decided to speak about the situation after receiving criticism on social media where the couple’s history of domestic violence has been discussed.
He suggested that Staley may have relapsed on drugs and could be with other drug users and that the focus should be on finding the 35-year-old and not on him.
Officials with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said in a Nov. 23 news release that Staley had been found “safe and uninjured” before adding that no additional details surrounding the circumstances of the three-week ordeal were available at this time.
“We want to express our sincere gratitude to the community and to everyone who provided information and assisted in the search for Danielle,” officials said. “We truly appreciate it and are very pleased she was located and is safe.”