Quick Take
Utah tourist Danielle Staley, 35, vanished after a bonfire at Rio Del Mar State Beach earlier this month. A week after Staley arrived in the community by van with a friend, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is canvassing the area, reviewing video and urging the public to come forward with tips to help find the missing woman. "We're not saying that there was foul play involved," an investigator said. "We're just not ruling it out."
Nearly a week after she disappeared from Rio Del Mar State Beach in Santa Cruz County, Utah resident Danielle Staley is still missing and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office continues searching for leads in her case.
Staley, 35, was last seen on Nov. 6 at around 11:23 p.m. at a bonfire at Rio Del Mar State Beach, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Zach West. “There’s continued urgency,” he said of the case.
Staley and a friend were traveling in a van from Utah, West told Lookout. Detectives don’t believe there was anything or anyone specific that brought them to Santa Cruz. They had been in the area for about a week, and met people they didn’t previously know at a bonfire on the night Staley went missing, he said.
The next morning, when her friend noticed Staley hadn’t returned to the van, the friend searched for her and found her belongings left behind on the beach. Soon after, the friend reported her missing and has been cooperating with authorities, West said.
“We’re not saying that there was foul play involved,” he said. “We’re just not ruling it out.”
West said several factors led investigators to believe Staley’s disappearance could be suspicious: She had never been to Santa Cruz County, she left her belongings behind, and family members told detectives that it’s unlike her to not be in contact with them.
He added that detectives are in the Aptos area actively investigating and haven’t stopped working since they received the report.
West said investigators are speaking with Staley’s friends and family, searching social media and asking local businesses and community members to check their surveillance footage and reach out with any information about the missing woman.
“We have had a bunch of callers call in with possible sightings and information,” he said.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with tips on the case to call 831-471-1121.
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