Washington authorities are searching for a teen whose car was found abandoned on Saturday, a day after she left her Maple Valley home.
NBC King 5 News reports that Gia Fuda disappeared Friday and has not returned home since, and hasn’t contacted her friends or family. She didn’t tell her family where she was going, which according to her mother, was extremely unlike her.
“We don’t have any idea where she was going,” her mother, Kristin Fuda, told the outlet.
Gia’s brother said he saw her leaving home with several bags but she wouldn’t tell him why. The following day, police found her vehicle abandoned off of Highway 2 between Skykomish and Stevens Pass. Her purse was located inside the vehicle and authorities said it appeared as if she ran out of gas. Her cellphone was not in the car but it had either died or been turned off.
“It’s like it’s not even happening. It doesn’t feel real. I mean literally, how could this happen to our daughter?” Kristin Fuda said.
“After midnight she didn’t come home, we knew something was wrong because she is normally home by then or she calls us or texts us.”
Investigators are now calling the teen’s disappearance as suspicious. They’re looking for any dashcam footage from anyone in the area between 10 a.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday. They want to talk to anyone who saw a grey Toyota Corolla on the side of the road in the area or any vehicle near the Toyota, according to Komo News.
Gia’s family said she just graduated high school and has been taking online summer courses while preparing to start college this year. She’s active in church groups and plays volleyball.
“She’s very social, she loved to just get up and go, you know,” said her mother, Kristin Fuda.
Kristin Fuda added that Gia’s older sister was 18 when she passed away 16 years ago, after being struck by a train.
“We’ve already dealt with something like this,” Kristin Fuda said, “It’s like déjà vu for us. She had just turned 18, also.”
Gia is described as a white female who stands 5-feet-4-inches tall and weighs around 165 pounds. She has long brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with any information on Gia’s whereabouts should contact the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311.
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[Feature Photo: Gia Fuda/Handout]
