Authorities said the disappearance was suspicious.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Friends and family held a candlelight vigil Friday night for a Vancouver, Washington woman who has been missing for more than a week.
The Vancouver Police Department said 61-year-old Cristina Ase left her home near Southeast 123rd Avenue and Southeast 5th Street on the morning of March 26 but never showed up for work.
Authorities have labeled Ase’s disappearance as “suspicious.”
KOIN 6 News heard from those closest to her during a vigil that was held in West Linn, Oregon, at the Rose Linn Care Center, where Ase worked.
Ase was headed to the care center, where she was the nursing director, at the time she vanished last month.
Since then, coworkers said they’ve put up hundreds of flyers, started Facebook groups and even searched the rivers to try and bring her home. With no answers in sight, many are now deeply concerned, hoping someone will come forward.
“Home and work, life hasn’t been the same without her,” said Nathan Priest, one of Ase’s coworkers.
Coming together under candlelight, the community is hoping to see Ase again while they honor their colleague who disappeared mysteriously.
“We want her home, we want her back,” said Brady Waldroff, the executive director of Rose Linn Care Center.
A crowd of more than 50 friends and coworkers gathered at the care center, a testament to the lives Ase has touched while working there for the past 15 years. This all comes 10 days after she texted friends saying she’d be late, only to never show up.
“She was the heart and soul here, and she is missed and we just want answers and we want her back,” Waldroff said.
After she vanished, Ase’s car was discovered about a mile away from her Vancouver home. Despite this, answers about her whereabouts remain out of reach, which her boss and coworkers describe as the most agonizing part of it all.
“The sheer confusion and dumbfoundedness of what happened and why,” as Waldroff put it.
Authorities said Ase drives a 2013 dark grey Toyota RAV4 with Washington plate AQT1726.
The Vancouver Police Department has identified three locations where she might’ve been seen. To help with the investigation, they want the public to provide any video footage of Ase or her car within a quarter-mile radius of the locations between March 25 at 4 p.m. and March 27 at 5 p.m:
- 501 SE 123rd Ave, Vancouver WA
- Glenwood Park – 8800 block of SE Claybourne Street, Portland OR
- Flavel Street & SE 92nd Ave, Portland OR
In the meantime, friends of Ase said they won’t stop searching until she’s home. As dozens of people gathered in the rain, it was clear how deeply they loved and missed her.
Ase’s family, who mostly live in Argentina, were not able to attend the vigil, her boss explained. Likewise, Ase’s husband is focused on the investigation, with law enforcement saying he’s been cooperative.
KOIN 6 News reached out to law enforcement for an update on the case but received no comment. We will update this story as soon as more information develops.
Joelle Jones
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