Ojai family desperately search for missing daughter with autism
An Ojai family needs help finding their daughter who has autism after the 21-year-old disappeared more than three weeks ago.
"I am thinking about her every day, every night, every minute," father Gabriel Valora said. "I won't stop looking for you."
It has been just over three weeks since Zyanya Valora climbed out of her bedroom window and disappeared from her family.
"After seven days of looking for her, they stopped operations," mother Damaris Dac said. "We are now on the third week, and we don't have any clue of where she is at."
Her parents said that Zyanya's cell phone was last pinged at a nearby Airbnb on the morning of her disappearance. She is about five feet tall, 90 pounds, with black shoulder-length hair, brown eyes and a mole underneath her nose.
The last time her parents saw Zyanya, she wore a white tank top and black boxer-style shorts. Her parents think she is barefoot because all the shoes she owns are still in her closet.
"I wanted to let her know we are still looking for her," her father said.
While devastated, Gabriel continues sending texts to his daughter, hoping she will respond.
"Yesterday, I told her I was looking for her, for hours. Near the beach, near the railroad tracks," he said.
Their family, friends, and the community at large have all banded together to help the parents by putting up posters, hosting fundraisers, and doing group searches.
"Somebody knows something and we just follow that lead," Dac said. "That is the hope every day that we find something that can lead us to her."
Zyanya's parents said she is verbal but may not speak. They ask anyone who sees her to keep her engaged long enough to call for help.
"She loves animals and Taylor Swift," her mother said. "She is not going to answer, probably, but she will keep listening."
It's a plea from a mother to strangers to help bring her daughter home.
"We love her, and we miss her really, really much, and we want her back," Dac said.
No matter what, Gabriel refuses to give up on his little girl.
"I am always trying to think how I can help you," he said. "If you are being held against your will, I just want you to know that I love you, and I will keep looking for you."
