VALLEJO – Search crews and cadaver dogs are combing through the marsh land of Mare Island Tuesday afternoon looking for a missing Vallejo woman.
Police believe 30-year-old Denise Huskins was taken against her will from a residence on the 500 block of Kirkland Avenue sometime early Monday morning.
Now the FBI has stepped in to investigate.
Vallejo police Lt. Kenny Park repeatedly told reporters at a Tuesday press conference that he either did not have answers to specific questions or could not disclose certain information because of the ongoing nature of the investigation.
“All I can tell you is that there was a ransom demand,” Park said.
Park did not provide reporters with information about possible suspects or a suspect vehicle, but did say that a Toyota Camry, originally believed to be Huskins’, had been found at an undisclosed location in Vallejo.
Huskins’ cousin Amy Mattison from sister station KCBS in Los Angeles said the Kirkland address is actually Huskins’ boyfriend home. She said the family doesn’t recognize the car and it could be the boyfriend’s.
Huskins and her boyfriend worked together at Kaiser in Vallejo. Huskins was there for a specialized physical therapy program.
Her father, Michael Huskins got a call from police Monday and flew up from LA Tuesday morning.
“This is overwhelming to me,” he said. “I don’t understand it. That’s the hard part. I just don’t understand what’s going on.”
Huskins confirmed the residence and car is his daughter’s boyfriend, and that he was the one who waited several hours before reporting her missing.
“If she sees this, I want her to know, that the family is there, we love her and we’re not giving up,” he said.
Next door neighbor Dana Vandaweg said,”We are all in shock. Normally this doesn’t happen up here.”
Vandewag said if there was a kidnapping, she thinks she would have heard something.
“They asked if we heard anything, saw anything,” Vandaweg said. “As far as I know, no one did.”
Reporters asked about the 30-year-old boyfriend and why he didn’t call police sooner to report Denise missing.
“We’re doing everything we can, but at this point I’m not at liberty to divulge too much information,” Park said.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Vallejo Police Department at 707-648-4524.
