A California grandmother is begging for answers as the search for her missing daughter and infant granddaughter enters its tenth day with no sign of either.
Whisper Owen, 36, and her 8-month-old daughter Sandra McCarty were last seen on July 15 after leaving family in Fresno to return home to Elk Grove, about 158 miles north, according to CNN. They never arrived.
The Fresno County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Owen's silver 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer was last caught on a traffic camera near Atwater around 8 p.m. that evening. Since then, there has been no trace of them, and police say no foul play is currently suspected.
Owen had traveled to Fresno for Sandra's doctor appointment and spent the day visiting family. Her brother, Richard Owen, said he last saw her around 2:45 p.m. before she returned to their mother's home to eat and pack up. She left around 5 p.m., hoping to make it home before dark. But due to a misunderstanding, her family didn't realize she was missing for three days. Her partner believed she had stayed behind to help clean her mother's new house and didn't raise the alarm until that weekend.
By the time the family contacted authorities, Whisper and Sandra had already been gone for days. With no working phone and limited communication habits, her sudden disappearance has only heightened concerns. Her family says she was in good spirits and had no reason to leave voluntarily.
"The last time I talked to my sister, she was talking about how good life was. She was just happy," Richard Owen said. "There was no reason for her to want to disappear or to leave."
Her mother, Vickie Torres, told CNN that her daughter had high blood pressure issues since giving birth and fears a medical emergency may have caused her to veer off the road. "I'm desperate to find my daughter and her baby," she said. "It's like she vanished into thin air."
Richard Owen has spent days searching highways and rural roads, sleeping in his car in hopes of finding a clue. Law enforcement agencies have circulated photos of Owen and Sandra, and Fresno police said they are coordinating with other departments in Northern California.
"We need this to go further," Torres said. "We need more help ... Somebody knows something and they need to come forward."
