A Beloved Mother And Colleague Missing For Months

Family, friends and colleagues of Nita Mayo were shocked and saddened by her disappearance on August 8, 2005.  Her coworkers described her as someone who never wasted a day and was dependable. Her absence in the tight knit community of Hawthorne, Nevada has already been felt.

Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department says that Nita Mayo was last seen at a residence in Hawthorne on the day she left for a road trip to Sonora, California. 

Police soon discovered that Nita Mayo's 1997 silver Mercury Sable station wagon was seen later that same day by a CalTrans worker at Donnell's Vista, a lookout point outside Sonora, California.  However, it was not until the following day that Nita Mayo's colleagues at Mt. Grant General Hospital reported her missing and police began their search.

When searching Mayo's vehicle, investigators found no evidence of foul play.  Cops say that a forensic report uncovered nothing unusual. 

Police noticed that the car was found full of gas with Mayo's purse, wallet, keys and cell  phone still inside.  Also in the vehicle were postcards and a refrigerator magnet from the nearby Strawberry General Store.  The only thing missing was the woman and her camera. 

Family and Authorities Keep Searching

Since her disappearance, cops, investigators, volunteer workers, and her family have scoured Nita's route to Sonora and the surrounding areas.  Police say that Nita's family stayed in the area for five weeks to help in the effort.

In the recent weeks the search for Nita has been aided by Tim Miller, a Texan who started a horse-mounted search-and-rescue team called Equusearch. 

Miller and his volunteers have been involved in numerous successful searches in the southeast part of the country. Most recently Equusearch assisted authorities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and also were in Aruba helping to search for Natalie Holloway.

Currently, police say that they are running out of leads in the case. Despite efforts from Nita Mayo's family, police and volunteers alike, cops are hoping that some new clues will soon come to light.