A Texas family’s Christmas Eve descended into anguish after 19-year-old Camila Mendoza Olmos went missing from outside her home in northwest Bexar County and has not returned since. Authorities say the teenager was last seen early on the morning of December 24, sparking a large-scale search and a desperate appeal from her family.
Camila lives with her mother in the 11000 block of Caspian Spring. According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, surveillance footage from the home shows a person believed to be Camila near her vehicle around 6.58 am. She appears to be searching inside the car before the video cuts off. Investigators believe she then left the area on foot, as the vehicle was later found still parked at the residence.
Morning walk that never ended
Camila’s mother, Rosario Olmos, told local media that she and her daughter had been sleeping in the same bed that night. She recalls feeling Camila get up but fell back asleep. When she woke up around 90 minutes later, Camila was gone.
Her car remained in the driveway and her mobile phone was found switched off and left behind on the bed. “I thought I would find her like other times, walking, and we would come home together,” Rosario said. When calls to Camila’s boyfriend and father yielded no answers, she contacted authorities and filed a missing person report.
Statewide alert issued
The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a CLEAR Alert for Camila, a statewide notice used for missing adults believed to be at risk. She has been classified as “possibly endangered”.
Camila is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing about 110 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black hoodie, baby blue pyjama bottoms or shorts, and white shoes. Deputies believe she may have only her car keys and possibly her driver’s licence with her.
Community search and family’s plea
More than 100 volunteers, including friends and relatives, have joined search efforts in and around Caspian Spring, walking several kilometres, distributing flyers and sharing her photograph widely on social media.
Her father, Alfonso Mendoza, issued an emotional appeal through local television channels, saying, “Please come home. Daddy’s missing you.” Other family members have echoed the plea, urging anyone with information to come forward.
As the days after Christmas pass in worry and uncertainty, Rosario has asked the community for prayers. “I only ask God to please bring her back home,” she said.
Authorities urge anyone with information on Camila Mendoza Olmos to contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons Unit.