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CHAMBLEE, Ga. - Chamblee Police are searching for a missing mother who has been gone since late October. They have a lot of questions as to why it took so long for an anonymous caller to report her missing.
Police said 42-year-old Cecilia Bustamante was last seen frantically leaving her job at a Willie's restaurant at The AT&T Midtown Center building in Atlanta on October 28.
“However, she was first reported missing on December the Second. We feel that she has disappeared against her own free will. She has no money, no credit cards, no passport,” said Captain Ernesto Ford, with the Chamblee Police Department.
Next-door neighbor Brent Baars told FOX 5 News, Chamblee police squad cars lined Meadow Wood Lane, the street he lives on, when they went into Mrs. Bustamante's home recently.
“Police came in here a couple of weeks ago and they went into the house,” said Baars.
He said he is friends with Mrs. Bustamante, her husband, and their 7-year-old son.
“I just pray she’s OK,” said Baars. “[I saw her] a couple of days before Halloween and then she turns up missing. Since then, nobody’s seen her,” said Baars.
He wondered if Mrs. Bustamante might be with family or friends in Baltimore or the Philippines. Police said they’ve been in touch with people in both the Philippines and Baltimore, but no one has seen or heard from Mrs. Bustamante.
Police said it was an anonymous caller who reported her missing.
“It wasn’t even her husband that reported her missing but someone outside of the family and it’s almost five weeks after she was missing,” said Captain Ford.
He said investigators don’t believe Mrs. Bustamante would easily leave her 7-year-old son, adding she has fallen off of social media.
“It just seems bizarre,” said Captain Ford.
No answer at the Bustamante home when FOX 5 News stopped Wednesday night. Mr. Baars and others are hoping Mrs. Bustamante will be found safe, soon.
“I just pray for the family and put it in God’s hands and hope he’s looking out for her,” said Baars.
Adding another wrinkle of mystery to the case, a representative from Willie’s restaurants told FOX 5 News, Cecelia Bustamante, “self-terminated” in early November.
Anyone with any information about the disappearance of Cecelia Bustamante is asked to contact the Chamblee Police Department.
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