Ariz. Woman Vanished Weeks Ago — and Family Say...

The family of an Arizona woman who went missing earlier this month and was later found dead believed she had a stalker who may be behind her disappearance and death, according to multiple news outlets

Published Time: 19.07.2024 - 23:31:09 Modified Time: 19.07.2024 - 23:31:09

The family of an Arizona woman who went missing earlier this month and was later found dead believed she had a stalker who may be behind her disappearance and death, according to multiple news outlets.

Doris Maricela Aguilar, 25, went missing on July 1, and her car was found abandoned and unlocked about a week later in the parking lot of a mall in Phoenix, Fox 10 Phoenix reported.

A missing persons poster shared by Phoenix police states that all of Aguilar's belongings were left behind and she had already prepared her meals for the next day.

According to AZFamily, the local medical examiner’s office confirmed on July 18 that Aguilar had died, adding that she died on July 7. Further details surrounding her cause and manner of death were not immediately clear.

As Phoenix police investigate the circumstances surrounding Aguilar’s disappearance and death, her family hired private investigator Steve Fischer to look into what may have happened to their loved one, according to both news outlets.

Fischer told Fox 10 that Aguilar’s family claimed she had a stalker who was a former coworker that she reported after he began sending her menacing messages. Her family claimed -

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he frequently showed up in the parking lot of the gym she attended, leading her to change gyms multiple times, per the outlet.

Her family claims she had expressed fear of him and that he even sent her a frightening message on June 27, four days before she disappeared. The message allegedly read, "Getting my membership back… see you soon,” according to Fox 10.

According to Fischer, the next steps are obtaining surveillance footage of the store near where her car was found. Fischer does not believe she left on her own, AZFamily reported.

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“She did tell her family and important people in her life about this person, and that if anything happened to her, he was responsible and he scared her,” Fischer said, per AZFamily.

PEOPLE reached out to Fischer and Phoenix police for comment but did not immediately hear back on Friday, July 19. It’s unclear if police have identified a person of interest or suspect in the case.