Authorities have intensified their hunt for a California woman whose car was found with keys still in the ignition a day after she vanished “under suspicious circumstances” on her way home from her ex-boyfriend’s home.
Alexis Gabe’s family told KNTV that they haven’t heard from the 24-year-old nursing school graduate since she was with her ex-boyfriend last Tuesday.
Oakley Police said that a male acquaintance–whose name has not been publicly released–told them Gabe was at his house until 9 p.m. on Jan. 26. But she failed to return home that night.
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Security cameras captured Gabe’s car in Oakley, a city in the Bay Area, around 9:30. p.m., and an unidentified person can be seen getting out of the car, cops said, according to KNTV. Police said they are examining digital images from surrounding cameras in the ex-boyfriend’s neighborhood and in the location where her car was found.
Gwyn Marqus Gabe, Gabe’s brother, told KTVU that he and his girlfriend Morgan Strenfel have been leading search efforts and they found her car on Thursday afternoon.
“Abandoned, keys in the ignition, door unlocked. And no sign of her. So that’s when things got pretty serious,” Strenfel said.
On Tuesday, Oakley Police, with the assistance of Antioch Police Department and the Contra Costa County District’s Attorney’s office, served a search warrant at the home they believe belongs to Alexis’ ex-boyfriend, where she was last seen. Investigators collected several large bags and a vacuum cleaner, KRON-TV reported.
Police said that they had questioned Gabe’s former flame “more than once,” but were not actively in contact with him, according to the outlet.
In the week since her disappearance, cops said that search teams have fanned out across Contra Costa County putting up flyers and hoping to find any trace of her. A Facebook group was also set up to provide updates as family and friends continue their search.
By Monday, as the search entered its fifth day, Alexis’ brother told KTVU that their mom had been “crying all night, all morning,” with no signs of Gabe.
“It’s like a lot of adrenaline in the beginning, you know, you’re just kind of on autopilot doing anything that you can. Today it’s hitting pretty hard,” Strenfel added.
Oakley Police did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment on the investigation on Wednesday and has not publicly identified any suspects or persons of interest.
