Authorities are searching for a California mother and her infant daughter who have been missing for more than a week.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday, July 24, that 36-year-old Whisper Owen and her 8-month-old daughter, Sandra McCarty, remain missing after last being seen on Tuesday, July 15. The two were reportedly driving a silver 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer after leaving a doctor’s appointment in Fresno.
According to officials, Owen and her baby were supposed to return home to Elk Grove in Sacramento County, where family members were expecting them. The Trailblazer, which has visible damage to the driver’s side headlight, was last seen on traffic cameras in Atwater around 8 p.m. local time that evening. The vehicle’s California license plate number is 9LKH008.
Authorities say Owen is 5’6″, weighs 145 pounds, and has blue eyes and brown hair. Sandra is described as 1’10”, weighing 17 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair.
“No information has been discovered to explain their disappearance,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Tiffaney Machado, a close friend of Owen, told local news outlet KMPH that no one has heard from Whisper since July 15. “Her phone just goes straight to voicemail. We’re really concerned about the baby. She’s only eight months old,” Machado said.
Owen’s partner, Robert McCarty, and her two other children were reportedly waiting at home the day she disappeared. Because she frequently visited family in Fresno and sometimes stayed for a few days, McCarty initially wasn’t alarmed. But by Saturday, July 19 — four days after she was last seen — the family filed a missing persons report.
Robert and Machado have since visited the Atwater Police Department to review surveillance footage and have posted flyers in the area in hopes of generating leads.
Friends describe Owen as a “loving, attentive mother” and say her sudden disappearance is entirely out of character.
Anyone who has information about the whereabouts of Whisper Owen or Sandra McCarty is urged to contact local authorities immediately.
