A Texas teenager who vanished on Christmas Eve is believed to be in “imminent danger,” according to law enforcement officials, as an intensive, multi-agency search enters its fifth day.
Nineteen-year-old Camila Mendoza Olmos was last seen early Wednesday morning leaving her home in northwest Bexar County, authorities said. Surveillance footage captured an individual believed to be Mendoza Olmos around 7:00 a.m. searching inside her vehicle for an unidentified item before walking away, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators believe Mendoza Olmos left the residence on foot. Her car remained at the home, and authorities say the only items she appears to have taken were her car keys and possibly her driver’s license. Her last known location was the 11000 block of Caspian Spring.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Sunday that deputies and volunteers have been searching around the clock, with help now coming from federal agencies.
“We definitely don’t want to miss anything,” Salazar told ABC News. “The ground search is somewhat limited to a couple of square miles. We’re also not ruling out that this case may take us outside the borders of the continental United States.”
According to Salazar, multiple agencies are assisting, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is providing technical support, and the Department of Homeland Security, which is monitoring border crossings and international travel.
Authorities say nothing has been ruled out in Mendoza Olmos’s disappearance, including kidnapping, human trafficking, or the possibility that she left on her own. Investigators confirmed she recently went through a romantic breakup, but described it as mutual and said there is no indication of foul play connected to it. Everyone close to her has been cooperative, officials said.
Mendoza Olmos was last seen wearing a baby-blue and black hoodie, baby-blue pajama bottoms, and white shoes. Her mother told investigators that her daughter often goes for morning walks but became alarmed when she did not return within a reasonable amount of time.
Salazar also addressed and dismissed online speculation that Mendoza Olmos may have been detained by immigration authorities, confirming she is a U.S. citizen and was not taken into custody by ICE.
“That was a personal concern,” Salazar said. “So, I had it checked to make sure that there were no stops, no detentions, and that she’s not somewhere in a federal detention facility.”
Investigators say it is especially concerning that Mendoza Olmos left her phone behind, something Salazar described as “highly unusual” given her active lifestyle.
“That’s why we’re working basically around the clock on this case,” he said, adding that while not all details can be made public, there is enough information for authorities to believe she is in imminent danger.
Salazar urged community members to assist by checking doorbell and home surveillance cameras for any footage that could help trace Mendoza Olmos’s movements.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at (210) 335-6000 or email the Missing Persons Unit at missingpersons@bexar.org.
