SAN DIEGO (Scripps News San Diego) — It has now been six months since Maya Millete, a Chula Vista mother of three, disappeared.
The last time her family saw or heard from her was January 7th. She was reported last seen at her home on Paseo Los Gatos in Chula Vista.
For half a year, family, friends, and even strangers have searched for Millete.
“It’s been terrible for the whole family, my mom and dad, just seeing them every day, you know, missing their daughter,” said Maya Millete’s older sister, Maricris Drouaillet. “Her kids are her life. We’re so used to seeing each other every other weekend, and now you know, she’s not with us, so it’s just been hard.”
Drouaillet said her family has been unable to connect with Maya Millete’s three children while she’s been missing.
In January, Drouaillet left her career as a registered nurse to dedicate all of her time to find her sister.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to go back, not knowing where she is and not having closure at all,” she explained.
She and her husband Richard Drouaillet make their way to San Diego County from their home in Riverside County every week for the searches.
In April, Chula Vista Police announced the department teamed up with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, FBI, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in their search for Maya.
So far, they’ve written 51 search warrants relating to the investigation, including three served at the Millete house where Maya was last seen. Last week investigators left the house with a black Jeep.
FILE – Maya Millete (KGTV)
Drouaillet tells KGTV, while things started off rocky with the police department staying tight-lipped about their investigative efforts, communication with the family has drastically improved.
“They have opened up to us,” she said. “We just had a meeting with them last Friday, we went to the police station and sat with them, and they gave us an update, where they’re at and what they’re working on,” she explained. “They guaranteed that there’s an investigator working on the case primarily for Maya, so that was a big relief for us.”
Drouaillet remains grateful to the community members who continue to show up and search for Maya every single week.
“We’ll keep on going; we’ll keep on searching until we bring her home. We’ll have closure in the family,” said Drouaillet.
Police have not yet publicly named a person of interest or suspect in this case.
CVPD asks anyone with information on Millete’s disappearance to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477, or CVPD at 619-691-5151.
This story was originally published July 7, 2021, by KGTV in San Diego.
