Police in the California city of Selma say they are treating the disappearance of Jolissa Fuentes, who has been missing since early August, as a “criminal matter”.
Ms Fuentes, 22, vanished on the night of 6 August after leaving a family gathering to retrieve some belongings from her home in Nebraska Ave, Selma.
She was last seen at about 4am on 7 August driving a 2011 Hyundai out of a gas station and has not been heard from since.
The new characterisation of the case as a “criminal matter” comes after Ms Fuentes’ family repeatedly criticised police for being slow to act on her disappearance.
At a press conference last week, Selma police chief Rudy Alcaraz said they had been able to trace her phone to an area north of the city, that had been the focus of extensive search efforts.
But there had been no sign of her cellphone, bank withdrawals or social media use since then.
“It’s very rare that a 22-year-old girl has no digital footprint,” Mr Alcaraz said.
“This is not normal behaviour for Ms Fuentes. So we are treating this as a criminal matter.”
The FBI and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and Freso Police Department are involved in the search, Mr Alcaraz told the press conference.
The independent search and recovery dive team Adventures with Purpose have also joined the probe.
