“We feel so helpless and also so desperate for answers.”
Those are the words of Maricris Drouaillet, the older sister of Maya Millette who disappeared from her Chula Vista home a month ago.
Drouaillet told NBC 7 she was surprised to learn from Chula Vista Police detectives that Maya’s husband had retained a lawyer and was no longer cooperating with the missing person investigation.
Chula Vista Police searched Larry Millete’s home in January, looking for anything that might help them find the 39-year-old mother of three. Even after the search, police refer to Larry Millete as a witness, not a suspect.
Millete was the last known person to see Maya before her disappearance, which followed an argument.
“It’s tough, because he is our family,” said Drouaillet, who added that Larry Millete has been “distancing” himself and his children from Maya’s side of the family in recent weeks.
“We can’t imagine him doing anything to our sister,” said Drouaillet who said the situation has been hard on everyone.
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Drouaillet said if she could speak to Larry she would ask him to help the rest of the family find Maya. “Show that you do care for my sister. Show that you do love her. That’s all I’m asking.”
The family has plastered posters of Maya’s face all across Chula Vista and organized several searches on the hills near her home near Mt. San Miguel Park.
They found nothing. Then on Wednesday, they learned hikers had found human remains on a hiking path in Santee.
Chula Vista Police and investigators from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Homicide Division discussed the case, but both say they have no reason to believe the remains are Maya’s.
Drouaillet said she never thought the remains were her sister’s because it appeared they’d been in the elements for much longer than a month.
Maya’s family is prepared for whatever happens next.
“No matter how you prepare yourself, it's still gonna hit you, and I think that we all know that," said Drouiallet.
A peaceful rally to find Maya is planned for Friday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. outside Chula Vista Police Headquarters.