Search ongoing for woman visiting California who was last seen at beach bonfire
Authorities said they are searching for an at-risk woman who was last seen at a bonfire on a California beach.
Danielle Staley, 35, of Utah, went missing while visiting the California Central Coast with a friend, 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, according to the sheriff's office.
She was reported missing the following day, the sheriff's office said.
Investigators have not ruled out foul play, and Staley is considered at-risk due to the circumstances of her disappearance, according to the sheriff's office.
"Staley's personal belongings were found on the beach, and she has not been in contact with her family -- behavior that is uncharacteristic and has raised additional concern," the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. "At this time, investigators are not ruling out foul play; however, the case is being treated as a missing person at risk due to the circumstances."
Staley has been visiting the area with a friend, and they had been staying in a camper van near Rio Del Mar State Beach, according to the sheriff's office.
The friend is cooperating with authorities, the sheriff's office said.
Staley's mother, April Miller, told Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX that Staley was traveling with someone she's been in an on-again, off-again relationship with for over a decade, and the two have been traveling through California since late September.
Miller said she had been talking with her daughter at least four times a week during the trip and would do video chats so Staley could see her cats.
"If she has gone missing, I feel that she would have done everything in her power to get a call out to one of us to let us know that she was OK," Miller told the station. "So we're quite concerned with the fact that we have not heard anything and the police in Santa Cruz seem absolutely concerned as well."
Miller told KTVX they feel "helpless" but are doing what they can to help. Several members of the family are en route to Santa Cruz to help with the search, and her son has been helping spread the word on social media about his sister's disappearance, she said.
"She's so fun and funny and just the life of any room," Staley's brother, Frankie Grey, told KTVX.
Residents and businesses with surveillance video in the areas of Rio Del Mar Beach, Beach Drive, Treasure Island and Spreckels Drive have been asked to contact the sheriff's office so deputies can review the footage.
"Detectives have been diligently working to track down any information and continue to do so," the sheriff's office 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.
