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Rally held for missing Chula Vista woman, Maya Millete

Supporters of Maya spoke at Chula Vista’s city council meeting Tuesday, hoping to make her case a priority.

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — The family of the missing Chula Vista mother, Maya Millete organized a peaceful rally that started Tuesday at 4 p.m. in front of the Chula Vista Police Department headquarters and then moved to Chula Vista City Hall.

Through a post on the Find May/Maya Millette Facebook group, the family said they were "seeking community support in the urgency to find May."

Along with asking people to attend the rally on Tuesday, the post also states "We truly appreciate everyone, and feel extremely blessed to have so many supporting us and standing in agreement that with our prayers we will indeed move mountains."

It’s been nearly four months since the mother of three was last seen. After disappearing from her home in Chula Vista early on Jan. 7, search efforts from hundreds of volunteers, covering huge swaths of the South Bay and East County have yet to show results.

Four law enforcement agencies are part of a  working group formed to investigate the case of Millete's disappearance. Chula Vista Police are now working with the FBI, the San Diego County DA’s office, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, according to an investigative update posted on the CVPD Facebook page.

Maricris Drouailet, Maya’s sister, told News 8 it is good news that the FBI, NCIS and the DA’s office are now working on the investigation, even if they still aren’t calling it a criminal investigation.

“They haven’t said anything about a criminal investigation, but it seems like they're going into that route,” said the sister.

Supporters of Maya spoke at Chula Vista’s city council meeting Tuesday, hoping to make her case a priority. Speaker after speaker pleaded with them to use more of the city’s resources to help find Maya.

“We need something in writing, an open invitation for all organizations outside of the Chula Vista Police Dept. to be able to come out and help us with our searches. That would help us,” said  Norma Toothman, a Search Warrior leader working to help find Maya.  

Toothman said other organizations have offered to use their cadaver dogs to search for Millete but Chula Vista Police turned them down, saying they didn’t want any interference in the investigation. Dozens of people also gathered in front of the police department for a peaceful rally. 

The family says they want to keep attention on the investigation and keep Millete’s case from going cold.

“Today we’re hoping we can urge the Chula Vista Police Department to expedite my sister’s case, to solve her case, to get some closure, to get some answers for my family and for her three children. We want to tell her three children where mommy is. They’ve been waiting for four months. It’s way too long,” said Maricris Drouaillet. 

In an effort to gain more national exposure of her disappearance, Maya's sister and brother-in-law appeared on the "Dr. Phil" show in April. 

National exposure in the disappearance of Millete, 39, has lead to more details coming out about the investigation.

“It angers me because it's not May. She wouldn't leave her family. She wouldn't just get up and go without notifying somebody that she's going to go somewhere. Somebody did this to her. Somebody did this to May. Somebody made her disappear,” said Maya’s brother-in-law, Richard Drouaillet during the TV program.

   

WATCH: On February 5, 2021, family, friends of Maya Millete rallied to raise awareness of her disappearance

 

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