Search continues in California for missing Utah woman, family creates GoFundMe

SALT LAKE CITY — Police in California are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing woman from Holladay, Utah.

Zach West, a spokesperson with the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office, said Danielle Staley, 35, had been traveling with a friend for the past month.

At around 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, Staley and the friend she was traveling with met up with people at Rio Del Mar State Beach. At some point during the night, the friend separated from the group.

According to West, Staley’s friend returned to the beach the next day and found her belongings but couldn’t find Staley. She has not been in contact with her family or friends, which, West said, is out of character for her.

West said Staley’s friend is cooperating with authorities as they work to find out who else was on the beach that night.

Staley’s family in Holladay has organized a GoFundMe  * to “help support the search for Staley.”

In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office asked for the public’s help. It also stated new information “indicates” foul play may be involved in the disappearance.

According to Zach West, spokesperson for the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office, leads have been “pouring in” from the public.  The area where Staley was last seen, Rio Del Mar State Beach, is popular for bicyclists and runners, West said. He asks anybody that was in the area during the late evening hours of Nov. 6, or morning hours of Nov. 7, to call the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office at (831) 471-1121.

The sheriff’s office said Staley was last seen wearing a “dark hooded” sweatshirt and leopard print leggings. She is 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 120 lbs. and has blonde hair.

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