ABC News November 19, 2025

Boyfriend of missing woman who was last seen at California beach bonfire speaks out

WATCH: Search ongoing for woman visiting California who was last seen at beach bonfire

The boyfriend of a missing woman who was last seen at a bonfire on a California beach two weeks ago urged anyone with information to come forward, as the search for the Utah resident continues.

Danielle Staley, 35, of Salt Lake City, went missing while visiting the California Central Coast, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.

She was last seen with a group of people at a bonfire on Rio Del Mar State Beach in Aptos shortly before midnight on Nov. 6 and reported missing the following day, according to the sheriff's office. Her personal belongings were found on the beach and she has not been in contact with her family, the sheriff's office said.

Staley is considered at-risk due to the nature of her disappearance and missing under suspicious circumstances, according to the sheriff's office. 

Staley had been visiting the area with her boyfriend, Alx Nunez, who told ABC Monterey Bay affiliate KSBW he wasn't at the bonfire and reported her missing when he woke up the following morning and she wasn't there.

Nunez told the station that he went to the beach to look for Staley and saw her purse and backpack sitting on top of a lifeguard shack.

Seeing her face on missing posters in the area is "breaking my heart," he told KSBW.

"I want to do more than what I've been doing," he told the station in an interview this week. "That's why I'm asking is for if anybody has any information, any information whatsoever, to please come forward."

The two had been staying in a camper van near Rio Del Mar State Beach, according to the sheriff's office. Nunez said investigators have been combing over the van looking for any clues into Staley's disappearance.

Residents in the area with any camera footage from Nov. 5 to Nov. 7 have been urged to contact the sheriff's office so detectives can review it.

Detectives are continuing to review surveillance video from the area, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Sgt. Zach West said in a statement to ABC News on Wednesday. The office has received many calls from the community regarding the case but "those details haven't led to finding Ms. Staley yet," he said.

"This is still being investigated as a missing person with suspicious circumstances and haven't established any crimes; therefore, there are not any persons of interest," West said.

The sheriff's office had previously said Nunez is cooperating with authorities.

When asked directly if he had anything to do with his girlfriend's disappearance, Nunez told KSBW, "Absolutely not."

"As God as my witness, I have nothing to do with it," he told the station. "I've been asked that question, even by my family. Everybody's asking that question. It's pretty obvious -- the boyfriend, the husband -- we're the No. 1 suspect all the time. And all I want to do is help, try to find her."

The two have had an on-again, off-again relationship for over a decade and had been traveling through California since late September, Staley's mother told Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX

Nunez told KSBW that the two have had their "ups and downs" while traveling but reiterated, "I have nothing to do with her disappearance."

Nunez told the station he is worried Staley may have relapsed into drug use, and that he's been searching spots in the area where people with drug problems are known to go.

He said he would do "whatever it takes," including going on camera, to find her, and started to tear up while thanking the community for their help and support.

"I just want her back," he said.

"She's my life, she's my best friend," he said.

Authorities described Staley as 5'6" and 120 pounds with blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and leopard print leggings.

Anyone with information on Staley is urged to contact the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office at 831-471-1121.