San Antonio police search for missing mom
Fox News' Casey Stegall shares recent developments on the case of a missing Texas woman who vanished July 5 on her way to work.
EXCLUSIVE DETAILS – Missing Texas woman Christina Lee Powell is a previously married mother of two boys, who worked as a paralegal and is known for her smarts and her kindness, her loved ones say. But earlier this month, she became known as something new: A missing person.
Powell, who goes by "Chrissy," disappeared without a trace on the morning of July 5 after she was last seen hurrying out the front door of the San Antonio home she shared with her mother and her oldest son.
The San Antonio Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit is handling the case. A police department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday that investigators have received an estimated 20 tips so far, but "nothing solid." There were no additional updates as of Friday morning.
A police flyer describes Powell as 5 feet, 2 inches tall, 120 pounds and right-handed, with shoulder-length hair.
She was last seen on the 7700 block of Redhill Place, and is "diagnosed with medical conditions that require a doctors (sic) care," police said. Investigators have said her disappearance is not currently being investigated as a crime and there are no suspects or persons of interest.
DAYS BEFORE HER DISAPPEARANCE
Loved ones told Fox News Digital Powell kept a low profile on the July 4th holiday. That Monday marked one year since Powell’s 3-year-old son began living with his father instead of Powell, said her mother, Claudia Mobley.
"We didn’t do anything, because a year ago, July 4, was when she had … when her boyfriend or ex-boyfriend walked out and took the baby," Mobley told Fox News Digital. "So, it was kind of a bad anniversary."
The day before, on Sunday, Powell and the ex-boyfriend argued over text message, Mobley recalled.
"He wanted them to be a family unit again," Mobley said, "and he was blaming her for them not being together anymore."
Mobley said she does not believe the man is involved in Powell’s disappearance.
Meanwhile, San Antonio police have said the man is "absolutely cooperating" and is "clearly not a person of interest."
But Powell also told her mother that she and her ex-boyfriend "had a wonderful visit on Saturday," Mobley recalled.
Mobley said she had spoken to the man since the date her daughter went missing.
WHO IS CHRISSY?
Powell worked as a paralegal at a San Antonio law firm, Sanchez and Wilson, where she had begun as a temporary employee on June 27, said managing partner Mark Sanchez. The firm was so satisfied with Powell’s performance that managers offered her a full-time position just days later, he said.
"We were impressed with her punctuality and hard work, and extended her a full-time offer of employment, actually, on Friday, July 1 — the weekend before she disappeared," Sanchez said Thursday when reached by phone. "She was elated and accepted a job offer on the spot."
Sanchez described Powell as "punctual and hardworking," and said she "showed herself to be bright and personable."
"She never came to work during that short time in any capacity other than wanting to work and being prepared for work. We wouldn't have offered her a full-time position if we weren't satisfied that she was demonstrating those basic workplace values that we expect, such as punctuality, hard work, attention to detail."
Sanchez described how one of his colleagues called Powell on the morning of July 5 when she did not arrive on time for work. He heard from the colleague, a woman, that Powell answered the phone and said, in sum and substance, that "it was the July 4th weekend, and she had overslept, but was on her way to work."
But after she stopped answering her phone and failed to show up two hours later from what should have been a 10-minute drive, he said, the female colleague went to Powell’s home to personally check in.
"It was a feeling that we all had, and it was just something wasn’t right," he said.
Powell’s mother, Mobley, said her daughter had previously disappeared, albeit for a shorter period of time, about four or five years ago.
"One time she did, but I knew she was with her boyfriend … that was a long time ago," Mobley said.
Photos released by authorities and loved ones show missing Texas mother Christina "Chrissy" Powell (Lauren Leal; San Antonio Police Department)
Mobley said she threatened to call the police when she spoke to Powell’s boyfriend at the time, but never followed through.
"It was days, but not a week," she said, when asked how long her daughter had gone quiet at the time.
Separate from the ex-boyfriend with whom she has a 3-year-old son, Mobley said Powell was married twice before, and has a 12-year-old boy with one of the men.
She said Powell does not see either of her ex-husbands "at all."
Fox News Digital’s attempts to reach one of the men identified as being her ex-husband were unsuccessful as of Thursday.
SEARCHING FOR CHRISSY
Mobley said she last saw her daughter drive away from the home in her 2020 Nissan Rogue after leaving in a hurry on the morning of July 5.
Powell left behind her cell phone, her medication and, police believe, her Apple Watch.
On Wednesday, Mobley recalled speaking with her daughter before she left for work that day.
"We didn’t really have any kind of in-depth conversation. It was basically, ‘Good morning.’ She told me she was late," she told Fox News Digital. "Then, she was leaving for work, and I told her to be careful. And I probably told her, ‘I love you.’"
Screengrab from doorbell camera footage shows Christina "Chrissy" Powell leaving her San Antonio home on July 5, 2022 (Lauren Leal)
Doorbell camera footage provided to Fox News Digital showed Powell hurrying out the door, wearing a long-sleeved dark-colored shirt and dark pants.
Loved ones have since tried to retrace Powell's likely path to work, but found no signs of her, her Nissan Rogue or a crash.
"I felt like she was going, I believed she was going to work — and I think she felt like she was going to work," she said.
On Wednesday, Mobley said family members were able to check her bank account, and found there had been no spending activity since Powell’s disappearance. The family was unable to look into her credit card activity, Mobley said.
When asked Thursday if Powell's SUV had any navigation system, Mobley said she learned from police that "there is no tracking device in there, in her car."
She said police continue to pursue tips they have been receiving related to her daughter’s disappearance.
When asked on Thursday if police had identified any suspects or persons of interest, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital: "We don't have any crime at this time."
The San Antonio Police Department's Public Information Office said in an email that officers from the department's Missing Persons Unit "continue to follow up on any information related to Christina Powell’s disappearance."
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"At this time, there is no evidence to support any claims of foul play," SAPD wrote. "Detectives have contacted several individuals who know Ms. Powell and all have been cooperative. Anyone who may have information on her whereabouts is asked to call our Missing Persons Unit at 210-207-7660."
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