Police in several Massachusetts communities are looking for a missing woman whose father says she was last seen on Thursday with a registered sex offender.
Twenty-five-year-old Jaimee Mendez of Swampscott was last heard from on Thursday. Family members say she called two friends, telling them she was with a recent male acquaintance and felt uncomfortable.
"She was worried, she was freaked out, she was with this guy, he was acting weird, she wanted to get out of there," said sister Alyssa Mendez. "The guy that she called went to pick her up and she never showed. And that's it. That's the last time anyone heard from her. Her phone's been off, until they found her phone - they found her phone and her jacket, and her ID ... in Salem."
Her family also tells NECN Mendez's mother found her sneakers in a dumpster behind CVS on Eastern Avenue in Lynn, along with a piece of rug allegedly from the man's van. Police would not confirm this information.
Mendez has a 5-year-old son. She is also Type 1 diabetic and did not have medicine with her.
"She still can't go four days without her insulin," Stephen Mendez, the Jaimee's father, said. "Her son is severely autistic. She would be home to see him every single day. She would never - I don't think she's ever spent a day away from her son."
Stephen Mendez said that the man with whom his daughter was last seen is a registered Level 3 sex offender.
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"Thank God we have a big family and we can all hold each other up, that's all I can say. As you know, it's hard. It's just, you can't describe it. It's unbearable," Alyssa Mendez said.
Massachusetts State Police and departments in Lynn, Swampscott and Salem are investigating the case.
According to the Essex County District Attorney's Office, Jamiee Mendez's family filed a missing person report Saturday afternoon.
Police have not released any information regarding what has been found in the investigation.
Monday, another woman told NECN her sister, 35-year-old Stephanie Vaczy, is also missing and said she was also often with Jaimee and the sex offender.
When asked if her sister had ever disappeared before, Karissa Vaczy said, "Never. And she makes sure she calls my mother three times a day, every day. And we haven't heard from her since the 30th. Her cell phone has not been used since the 30th. We did a tracking on it."
Police would not comment on any connection between the two women and the man or even tell NECN if they are investigating the disappearance of Stephanie Vaczy.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to help provide for Mendez' son while officials search for her.
