CHULA VISTA, Calif. — CBS network’s true-crime series 48 Hours Investigates will be airing an hour-long report on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 10 p.m. (Pacific Time) on the case of Maya Millete, the missing mother from Chula Vista.
It’s the kind of national exposure that can lead to a break in a missing person case, a break Millete’s family has been waiting for.
The correspondent for 48 Hours, Jonathan Vigliotti, traveled to the Anza Borrego Desert for the episode, where volunteer search teams were looking for Maya’s remains.
“It was both inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time, as you can imagine; inspiring because there were so many volunteers that joined in on this search effort that was first launched as a grass roots effort by family and friends,” Vigliotti told CBS 8. “There were easily dozens of people. It was incredibly hot. When we talk about just how vast this is, it is truly the equivalent of looking for a needle in a haystack.”
The 48 Hours investigation explores Maya’s life before she went missing, and the behavior of her husband, Larry Millete, who remains behind bars charged with Maya’s murder.
“Without a body, though, the prosecution really has their work cut out for them, which is why those search efforts that continue on every weekend, this weekend, and beyond are so crucial,” said Vigliotti.
The correspondent interviewed two of Maya’s co-workers at Naval Base San Diego, Claudio Julao and Allison Alexander.
“I had a lot of respect for her. She was a very strong and confident leader. A lot of women in the office really looked up to her,” said Alexander.
“Maya loved her kids. There's no way she would have up and left,” Julao told the network.
Team Maya search volunteers will be back out searching over the weekend. They have teamed up with a search and rescue instructor, who is conducting informal training in the field.
To join the search effort email teammayaseaerch@gmail.com.
WATCH RELATED: 48 Hours takes a deep dive into the case of Chula Vista mother, Maya Millete (Feb. 2022).