'Bring my baby girl home': Missing Jolissa Fuentes' mom Norma Nunez's DESPERATE plea ends in tragedy
Update: The Fresno County Sheriff's Office and Selma Police Department confirmed October 11, Tuesday that the body of Jolissa Fuentes had been found on Monday, October 10 night.
Selma Police Chief Rudy Alcarez who was leading the investigation, personally found Jolissa during a search of the area and officials say it appears her car went off Trimmer Springs Road near Maxon Road, north of Pine Flat Lake. They believe she died as the result of a car accident.
-----------------------
SELMA, CALIFORNIA: The mother of 22-year-old Jolissa Fuentes, who disappeared while she was out getting snacks, has issued a desperate plea as authorities continue their investigation. Fuentes was last seen on surveillance footage at a Selma, California gas station at around 4 am on August 7, about 16 miles south of Fresno.
Fuentes' mother Norma Nunez recently told the US Sun that these two weeks have "been the worst feeling in the world." 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 the sister was asleep at the time. Fuentes again called her sister at 5.24 am and 5.25 am. According to her father, this was Fuentes' last known activity and her phone has gone silent ever since.
READ MORE
Kiely Rodni: Search for missing girl leads to arrest of sex offender on unrelated charge
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, $5,065 had been raised out of the $10,000 goal.
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 are treating Fuentes' case as being criminal in nature since this is 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.
Fuentes disappeared a day after Kiely Rodni, 16, went missing near a reservoir in Truckee, California, nearly 300 miles north of Selma. An Oregon-based volunteer diving search team called Adventures With Purpose (AWP) said they found Rodni's truck in the water and also a body that is likely the teen's, but police are awaiting a positive identification before confirming the discovery. The same volunteer search team will now assist in finding Fuentes. A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to her location.