HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) - Authorities are searching for a missing 21-year-old woman who failed to show up for a Zoom Bible study hours after visiting a South Florida nature center a week ago.
Noemi Bolivar’s parents told CBS4 their last contact from Bolivar was a Snapchat message while she was in Anne Kolb Nature Center on Feb. 11.
“She’s just a nature girl. She loves birds. That’s her passion, go look at the birds and the plants and everything,” Marycel Bolivar told WPLG.
In the week since Bolivar went missing, Hollywood police, her family and community members have searched the area multiple times. Authorities pinged Bolivar’s phone near Hollywood Beach but were unable to locate her.
“I don’t think Noemi would run away from home,” Karem Ryker, a family friend told the South Florida SunSentinel. “I don’t think this is a prank. I don’t think she is hiding out at someone’s house and living a life away from her parents. We believe that something bad has happened. But we believe that she is still alive and we want to bring her home.”
Ryker said Bolivar’s father, Jose, is searching day and night for his eldest daughter. According to the Sun-Sentinel, he documents the locations he searches with short messages and photos.
About a dozen people joined the search for Bolivar the morning after she went missing, and the next day about 60 people showed up to help.
“What worries me is that someone may have taken her,” Bolivar’s mother told CBS4. “All I want is my daughter back. I feel like part of my heart has been taken out. I haven’t been able to sleep. I can barely breathe. Please help us.”
The Hollywood Police Department is coordinating the investigation, aided by police dogs, drones and the aviation unit from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
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