The ex-boyfriend of Camila “Cami” Mendoza Olmos has been assisting in the search for the missing Texas teen — and vowed to continue doing so until she’s found.
Nathan Gonzales spoke to local media on Saturday as he and other members of the community came together to look for Olmos, who mysteriously vanished just before 7 a.m. on Christmas Eve and was last seen outside her home in San Antonio.
“They’re going through a nightmare,” Gonzales said of Olmos’s family during a search party for the missing teen.
Gonzales, who had dated the missing 19-year-old, told Fox San Antonio on Saturday that he’s fully committed to searching for Olmos — whom he described as exceptionally “loving” — until the moment she’s found.
“So that’s why we’re all out here to support her family and be there for them, because not only do they need us right now. But they need the Lord Jesus to be with her and protect Cami because we know with the Lord that she’s gonna come back home.
“She’s a very loving person. She’s the person that always puts others before herself, and she loves everybody no matter what, and you know, this is just not like her because like I said, she’s just a loving person and would’ve never thought that something like this would happen,” Gonzales continued.
“I’ll be here all day… We’ve been here for three days, going on four days straight, and we’re not going to stop until we find her.”
Gonzales has since dedicated much of his social media presence to happy pictures of the couple together and flyers asking for members to join search efforts as the teen’s disappearance moves into its fifth day.
Olmos had recently ended a romantic relationship, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department.
The breakup was described as amicable, and police are not currently working on the assumption that her ex is involved in her disappearance, cops said.
Gonzales, however, has not been officially identified by authorities as the subject of the recent breakup, and it is unclear when the pair was last together.
Gonzales added that he has answered detectives’ questions about his relationship with Olmos and any places he believed she could have vanished to, as authorities continue the desperate search.
“I was willing to give any information that I can to bring her home. Because at the end of the day that’s what I want is to bring her home for her family,” Gonzales said.
The search for Olmos has extended into Mexico as state authorities fear she may have been taken over the US-Mexican border.
Camila Mendoza Olmos’ grieving family said the teenager is “with the Good Lord” in a heartbreaking post after she was found dead in a field just 100 yards from her home.
Camila’s family wanted “to give a humble and heartfelt thank you to all the news reporters, police detectives, FBI, churches, friends, family, and many other communities for your support and prayers” during the frantic, days-long search for the 19-year-old, her aunt Nancy Olmos wrote on social media.
“Our beloved Camila Mendoza Olmos is now with the Good Lord.
“We kindly ask that you please respect our pain and, most importantly, keep my cousin Rosario — Camila’s mom — and my nephew Carlos — Camila’s brother — in your prayers during this incredibly difficult time,” she added.
Olmos’ body was found beside a handgun near her home outside San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday.
She had shot herself in the head, the medical examiner determined.
Olmos “was a young person going through a very tough time in her life,” he said.
Olmos, who studied Northwest Vista College with the goal of being an orthodontist, had last been seen around 7 a.m. Christmas Eve rummaging through her car, footage shows.
She vanished with her car keys and license, but her cellphone was found on her bed.
Her disappearance sparked a massive search, including by her ex-boyfriend, Nathan Gonzales, who described Olmos as an exceptionally “loving person” in an interview with Fox San Antonio.
The search dragged on without any leads as police exhausted all possibilities including human trafficking, warning at one point that she could be in “imminent danger.”
They also considered that Olmos, a US-Mexican dual citizen, may have gone or been taken across the border into Mexico, prompting the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to join the investigation.
A joint team of Bexar County sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents discovered the body beside the handgun around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, the San Antonio Express reported.
Teams had already combed through the field earlier in the search but decided to try again because of the tall grass and heavy brush, Salazar said.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
