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Alleged stalker messaged woman before disappearance
A woman who went missing in Phoenix received messages from a stalker just days before her disappearance. FOX 10's Ashlie Rodriguez has the story.
PHOENIX - It's been 17 days since anyone last saw 25-year-old Doris Maricela Aguilar.
She went missing on the night of July 1. Her car was found abandoned seven days later near Interstate 17 and Bethany Home Road, and now her family is fearing the worst.
Her car was found in the parking lot of a mall, unlocked with her purse and wallet inside full of cash.
What really has her family scared is the fact that she had a stalker.
"I believe that guy took her"
Family and friends of 25-year-old Doris Maricela Aguilar consider her a gym rat, a health nut, and a hard worker.
In fact, the day before she went missing on July 1st, she had meal prepped. With no history of mental health issues, drug abuse, or disappearing for periods of time, her family immediately notified police their daughter never came home after work that Monday night.
"There was this man that would follow her to different gyms," said David Lara, one of Doris' friends.
Her family says Doris' stalker was her coworker and he began sending her harassing messages.
25-year-old Doris Maricela Aguilar has been missing since July 1. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Lara)
When she reported him, the company fired him, but he kept appearing and sending her messages from an account with a gun as the profile picture and the only photo on the account of an AR-15 in the back of a car.
She was very scared of him, and she expressed that.
He forced her to switch gyms three times
Desperate, her family hired licensed missing persons private investigator Steve Fischer to help find her.
Fischer says the stalker would show up in the parking lot of the gym she attended, forcing her to switch gyms three times.
In one post on June 27 he wrote, "Getting my membership back… see you soon."
Days later, she was gone.
Photo of Doris Aguilar's car found in a parking lot near I-17 and Bethany Home Road.
"They're scared to death," Fischer said about Aguilar's family. "I can see the fear in their faces."
Phoenix Police said they processed her vehicle and are awaiting results, while detectives continue to follow all leads.
"I believe that guy took her," Lara says. "I really hope that she is still here in Arizona and they didn't take her anywhere else."
Latest on the investigation
Fischer says he is requesting surveillance video from where her car was found and following her cell phone records, which recently pinged in Houston.
If you know anything about Doris Aguilar, please contact Phoenix Police at 602-262-6151. You can also call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish.