Katharina Buczek
Born on June 22, 1997, Arelie Garcia grew up in Salinas, California, with her six siblings. She was also especially close with her two older sisters, who eventually got married and moved out in adulthood.
So, the three sisters always kept in touch via text and frequently spent time together – either going shopping or seeing movies.
By the time Arelie was 25-years-old in 2022, she was still living in an apartment with her mom, which was located on Roosevelt Street in Salinas. She was also working as a service advisor at a Chevrolet car dealership.
But, after Arelie headed out for work as usual on the morning of September 22, 2022, she mysteriously disappeared, and her family has been searching for answers ever since.
That day, she left her apartment at about 6:30 a.m., and her car – a bright red-wrapped Honda Accord – was captured on surveillance footage. Not long afterward, she also sent her sister a text detailing how she was going to work.
Yet, Arelie never actually arrived at her job, and no one has seen or heard from her since.
Arelie’s manager eventually called her family to tell them that she never showed up for her shift, which was supposed to start at 7:00 a.m. At that point, they contacted the Salinas Police Department and filed a missing person report.
Then, that same evening, Arelie’s two sisters used the Find My iPhone feature in an attempt to locate the 25-year-old. They found that Arelie’s phone had last pinged in a region of Big Sur, which is about an hour away from Salinas.
This enabled Arelie’s car to be located. It was discovered locked and parked on the side of Highway 1, close to the Little Sur River. Inside, her wallet and cell phone were found. The vehicle’s keys had also been left in the ignition, and investigators found no indicators of foul play.
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