Corpus Christi (KIII News) — It has been 17 years since Christina Torres went missing. At the time, she was 34 years old. Her family still has no clue where she is or if she's even alive.
The Corpus Christi woman was last seen on New Year's Eve back in 2000.
We sat down with Christina's older sister Cynthia Torres.
"We would go dancing," said Cynthia Torres, Christina's older sister. "She loved country music. She loved Shania Twain."
Cynthia said her sister was full of life just like the country songs she loved so much. She was an outgoing and well-liked person who held down two jobs including work as a bartender. She was also the mother of an 11-year-old girl.
"She had her daughter so spoiled," Cynthia said. "New Year's Day she was supposed to come to my house and pick up some mail and then go pick up her daughter. She never made it to my house. Supposedly she was going to pick up her daughter, and her daughter wasn't there at her dad's house. The police reports that she got into an argument, she got mad, and she left."
Christina was reported missing on January 2, 2001.
"We had flyers everywhere," Cynthia said.
She feared the worst, because Christina vanished without her daughter.
"They were really, really close. I could not see her leaving her daughter behind," Cynthia said. "No way. I knew when they showed me her car, something happened to her."
Christina's maroon Camaro was found abandoned on the side of the road just north of Mathis along with her cell phone, checkbook and a mysterious note that asked people not to look for her. Cynthia said authorities never found signs of foul play.
"There was no evidence in her car, no blood, no fingerprints, nothing like that," Cynthia said.
In fact, a second note would surface. It was discovered in Torres' locker at work.
"She was having so many problems with the father of her little girl," Cynthia said. "She just wanted to get away I guess. She wrote that she wanted to start her life all over again, buy new clothes."
Cynthia said authorities could not find evidence that would link anyone to her disappearance. That along with those letters led police to treat it as a missing person's case.
"They are thinking because of that letter and because they found her car that she wanted to be gone," Cynthia said. "She didn't want to be here no more."
To this day, Cynthia believes something more sinister took place.
"I think we will find out she's not alive anymore," Cynthia said.
One clue came from an unlikely source.
"The guy she was talking to most at the time went to go talk to a fortune teller who said 'You need to go look for her where the windmill is,'" Cynthia said.
Adding to this mystery, a single lingering question: If she did in fact want to start a new life, why wouldn't she have taken her little girl?
"She wouldn't have left without her daughter. I understand her wanting to start her life over again, but she would have wanted to take her daughter with her," Cynthia said. "I'm just hoping that, if someone knows something, please say it. Its been almost 18 years."
Christina's case remains open. You can find it listed on the Texas DPS website of missing persons here.
If Christina were alive today, she would be 52 years old.
If you have an idea for our Unsolved Files series, contact Kiii News Reporter Bill Churchwell at bchurchwell@kiiitv.com or call 361-855-6397.
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