EXCLUSIVE | 'Lissy is my baby': Shattered mother of missing Jolissa Fuentes makes heartbreaking appeal
"Jolissa is my baby girl and she is so strong," a distraught Norma Nunez said.
SELMA, CALIFORNIA: Jolissa Fuentes was last seen on surveillance footage at a Selma, California, gas station around 4 am on August 7, about 16 miles south of Fresno. Nobody has heard from her since then and her worried mother, Norma Nunez, has been praying for her daughter's safe return. Fuentes, 22, disappeared while she was out getting snacks.
"I love all my kids more than one can imagine," Nunez told MEAWW. "Lissy (Jolissa) is my baby girl and she is the strongest and toughest of all my children. She is family-oriented and loves everyone dearly. Lissy lights up any room she enters. The last few days have been very tough and we just want her back home, where she belongs."
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Fuentes left a party to go home, stopping at a gas station for a snack. She reportedly called her sister at 3.59 am, but she was asleep at the time. Fuentes again called her at 5.24 am and 5.25 am. This was reportedly her last known activity and her phone has gone silent ever since.
"Jolissa was at my sister-in-law's house the last time I spoke with her before she disappeared," Nunez recalled. "I believe she was telling me something about her brother. Lissy loved her brothers and sisters."
Meanwhile, Selma Police Chief Rudy Alcaraz said on Monday, August 22, "To this point, it's very rare that a 23-year-old girl has no digital footprint." Alcaraz added, "Additionally from the onset of this, the Fuentes family was adamant that this is not normal behavior for Jolissa."
Alcaraz also said that authorities were treating Fuentes' case as being criminal in nature since this was not normal behavior for her. Fuentes, it is believed, may have gone to the area near Pine Flat and Avocado Lake. Police have already spent at least 288 hours searching in the weeks since her disappearance using 16 off-road vehicles. Alcaraz confirmed that they have covered 1740 ground miles. "We're doing all we can with the resources we have," Alcaraz said.
Stressing how urgent it is to find Jolissa right now, Nunez said, "Please treat this case as if it was your own child. There is an urgency to find her. We are lost without her and we need her back at the earliest. Please help bring my baby home."
"Don’t stop praying, keep searching and thank you for your love and support," she said to all those who are helping in the search. "If someone knows something, please come forth. Jolissa must come home to her mom, we miss her very much." She added, "There is a $10,000 reward leading to her whereabouts."
Nunez has now set up a GoFundMe to "fund the efforts" to bring her daughter home. "First off thank you Jesus for your loving grace, this is my daughter Jolissa Fuentes who went missing since Sunday, August 7, 2022. We are lost without her, we are asking for the public’s help to fund the efforts in the search for my Jolissa. Anything that God puts in your heart is appreciated. Please help bring my baby girl home back to us," Nunez wrote on the page. At the time of writing this article, $5,455 USD had been raised of the $10,000 goal.