A 28-year-old California woman has been missing for more than a week after saying she was going to the gym to meet a friend. She hasn't been seen since.
Sara Celeste Otero was last seen on January 28 at around 8:40 a.m. in Oceanside, California, according to police. She reportedly told her stepfather she was headed to the gym when she left the house, according to Fox News.
Otero's sister, Chelsea, told Fox News she never arrived at the gym, and the friend she told the family she was meeting says she had no idea they had plans to meet that day.
Her phone has been shut off since 10 a.m. the day she went missing, her family told Fox News.
"She stopped responding so I started texting my family and realized something was up pretty immediate after she stopped responding for about four hours," Otero's stepbrother, Ryan Bear, told KNSD-TV.
Otero's family is concerned she may have harmed herself, Fox News added. Otero has a history of substance abuse, but her family says she has been sober for two years.
"We've got very little details," Bear told Fox News on Monday. "And that's the entire reason that we're trying to ask the public for any and all information at this point, because we don't know anything."
Bear said he believed Otero may have gone to the beach that day, but she never showed up for her shift at work, which is something she would not typically do.
Family members say Otero had a boyfriend, and the two had been dating for a short time, her family told Fox News. The boyfriend was at his job when Otero went missing.
Chelsea said Otero shared that she had been feeling depressed, which affected her relationship with her boyfriend. Family members told Fox News her boyfriend was "devastated" when he found out she was missing and that they don't suspect foul play.
"He's in just as much shock as we all are," Bear was quoted.
Oceanside police say Otero is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. She has blue eyes and long brown hair. She has a tattoo of Winnie the Pooh on her ankle, a flower on her arm and another tattoo that says, "It's in our nature," on her right bicep.
She was last seen in bronze pants and a green military-style jacket. Police say she may be driving a charcoal gray Subaru Outback with the California license place 7GAB955.
Bear told Fox News the family has no information on anywhere specific to begin looking, and they don't know where she may have gone.
Otero lived in Boise, Idaho, until 2019, and enjoyed spending time in Costa Rica and at Joshua Tree, Chelsea said to Fox News.
Bear told Fox News sometimes Otero would be reclusive, but cutting off communication with her family for a long period of time was not normal.
"To be missing for a few days and not answering family, that's just never happened before," Bear was quoted. "You're loved. You're cared for. Your family just wants to know that you're safe and sound."
Update 2/8/2022 at 2:20 p.m.: This story has been updated to provide additional details regarding Otero's disappearance.
