The family of Danielle Staley, who disappeared from a Central California beach earlier this month, says they’re holding onto hope that she will be found as the search reaches its two-week mark.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said Staley, 35, of Holladay, was reported missing on Nov. 6; she was last seen at the Rio Del Mar beach in the Aptos area, where she had attended a bonfire at some point that night.
Gabrielle Staley, Danielle’s sister, said she and her stepfather drove from Utah to California last week to work with law enforcement and initiate their own quest to find her — but they haven’t had any luck in the effort so far.
“We’ve been doing everything we can think of; organizing searches of the area, handing out flyers to local businesses, pinning laminated ones up all over the area, handing out sandwiches and flyers to homeless encampments,” Gabrielle Staley told KSL.com.
She said local community members have also stepped up by helping to scour the area for Danielle Staley, and by encouraging people to send any camera footage that may be helpful to authorities investigating the case.
Zach West, a sheriff’s office spokesman, said Staley had been traveling with a friend and arrived in the Santa Cruz area near Aptos about a week before she vanished.
According to West, Staley was said to have been at a bonfire with a group of people near Rio Del Mar State Beach, but somehow got separated from them.
Some of her belongings were located on the beach the next morning, but Staley has yet to be found, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said in a Nov. 9 release that it believed Staley “may be at risk” and foul play “may be involved.”
West added that the department has been working to follow up on leads it has been receiving.
“Our focus at this time is continuing to ask the public to contact our office if they have seen Ms. Staley or were around Rio Del Mar State Beach during the late evening hours on Nov. 6 to morning hours on Nov. 7. We know this area is very popular for bicyclists and runners to use for exercise,” West said in a statement on Wednesday.
Danielle Staley’s sister and stepfather spent about a week in California looking for her before heading back to Utah.
They are now hoping to raise money to keep the search going.
“My sister Gabrielle and our stepdad Slade have been in the Santa Cruz/Aptos area since Nov. 12, searching tirelessly for Danielle and working closely with law enforcement,” a GoFundMe* campaign launched by another family member to support the effort reads. “The costs of staying there — gas, food, lodging, printing flyers — add up quickly, especially as they miss work to continue the search.”
Despite the financial challenges, Gabrielle Staley said the family is not giving up.
She told KSL.com that she intends to go back to Santa Cruz and continue searching for her sister on Friday — with her parents set to travel there over the weekend.
Gabrielle Staley said she and her family are thankful for the many people who have taken time to contribute in finding Danielle Staley.
“The outreach has been heartwarming and gives us hope that something will be noticed or someone will see her, so we can bring her home,” she said.
Danielle Staley is about 5-foot-6, with blond hair, and was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and leopard-print leggings, police said.
The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information on her whereabouts to call the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office at 831-471-1121.