A day after an Oxnard family expressed concern for a mother of two who had not been heard from in more than a week, the woman was located in Oregon and “expressed deep regret for all the worry she caused,” police said.
Dawn VadBunker, 39, was headed to work in Santa Monica on Friday, July 3, and was supposed to meet with her boss when she was last seen, her parents said.
VadBunker’s parents expected she would return home the following day for a Fourth of July party she was “excited” about, but the woman texted her parents on the holiday saying she would not be home for two days.
“I get a text that says, ‘Mom, I’m staying a couple more days,’ Laura VadBunker said. “I thought, ‘OK, all right.’ So I kept thinking that by Monday would be her couple days, she would be home. That didn’t happen.”
VadBunker was believed to have been living with her parents for the past year, Oxnard Police Department Sgt. Sharon Giles said.
Her parents grew concerned when she did not return home, her cellphone went straight to voicemail and she had no activity on social media. She was reported missing Friday, July 10, Giles said.
Dawn VadBunker was last seen driving a 2007 silver Dodge Nitro with a license plate No. of 5YGB296.
The vehicle was located Wednesday morning outside an Oregon motel, Oxnard police said.
“The (Deschutes County) Sheriff’s Deputy contacted Dawn, verified her well-being and had her speak to the Oxnard Police Department over the phone,” Oxnard police stated in a news release. “She expressed her deep regret for all the worry she caused but assured law enforcement personnel in Oregon and Oxnard that she would be in contact with her family soon.”
It was not known if VadBunker was alone when she was located.
For the past six to seven years, Vadbunker had worked as a personal assistant and property manager for her boss, with whom she was friends, according to her parents.
The missing woman’s mother said she had been unable to contact her daughter’s boss — which was extremely unusual.
An unidentified man had told police he saw VadBunker with another woman, officials said Tuesday.
“She’s potentially with that female,” Giles said. “We located the neighbors of that female and they have not seen that female either.”
Prior to VadBunker’s disappearance, her parents said they had not noticed anything was wrong and their daughter appeared to be in good spirits despite being in the midst of getting her marriage annulled.
