Texas family pleads for help to find missing Wise County woman Monica Sanford

The Wise County Sheriff’s Office and family members are asking for help to find 48-year-old Monica Sanford, who was reported missing Aug. 25 from Bridgeport in a case in which foul play is suspected.

Chief Deputy Eric Debus said investigators became concerned that Sanford didn’t leave on her own accord when they saw that her personal belongings, including her dog, were left behind.

Sanford went somewhere with “a person that she knew ... and then he said that she had left before he did,” Debus said. “So we don’t know who else might have seen her in the meantime, before she actually did go missing.”

Darla Hastings, Sanford’s only sibling, said that she was told her sister was seen on Aug. 23 with her ex-boyfriend, who later returned without her.

Hastings said that Sanford, a mother of five adult children, missed the 28th birthday of her oldest daughter, Destiny, on Aug. 28, and Monica didn’t call to wish her a happy birthday, which was unlike her.

Hastings said Destiny posted on Facebook that this was the first birthday she didn’t hear from her mother.

“I don’t believe she’s any longer with us,” Hastings said. “And that’s hard, in and of itself, but there’s always that hope that you hold on to, and so that’s hard too, but realistically, it’s been almost 18 days.”

Debus said authorities conducted numerous searches of a 250-acre property off Cuba Road in Bridgeport, where Sanford had been staying in a trailer. The efforts included three days when they used drones and sonar to search a large body of water on the property.

The sheriff’s office has five investigators looking into Sanford’s disappearance, including one who is working full-time on the case, and has called in the Texas Rangers to help with the investigation.

Hastings said she became aware that her sister was missing when Sanford’s daughter Caci called her and asked if she had heard from her mother.

Hastings said Caci told her that there was a post on Facebook by Sanford’s ex-boyfriend.

Hastings read the post during a phone call with the Star-Telegram. It said, “Monica, please call me or text me to let me know you’re okay, Nobody has seen or heard from you since you took off. You abandoned your car in a field. Right? You left your dog, and you left every stitch of clothes you have. Something doesn’t seem right about the whole situation. I am worried about you, and I pray for your safety. I love you, and pray to hear from you soon.”

Hastings said she became immediately alarmed and called her husband to tell him that her sister was missing and she was going to alert the police.

She said that what alarmed her the most was that her sister left her beloved dog.

“This dog is her world, like her kids are all adults, all grown, and she is not married, that’s her dog,” Hastings said. “That is her. She sleeps with that dog. That dog is everything to her. And my sister would never, never leave that dog. She would definitely leave her car before she’d leave that dog.”

Debus said investigators have two or three persons of interest who are cooperating with investigators, including one person who is in custody on unrelated charges. Police believe these people may have important information on the disappearance of Sanford.

The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information to call the emergency line or go to the Wise County Crime Stoppers Facebook page to turn in any tips.

Hastings tearfully said if anyone has information, small or big, to come forward. She said that the family wants her sister found, if for nothing else but closure during this difficult time.

“It very well may be what we need to find her,” Hastings said. “She’s loved, she’s missed, she’s a daughter. Our mother did pass away, but our dad is still alive, and he is devastated, as any parent would be. She’s a sister, she’s a mother, she’s a grandmother.”

Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit search and recovery organization, put up a $5,000 reward for any information on the disappearance of Sanford.

“I don’t know where she is, but wherever she’s at right now, she doesn’t deserve to be there,” Hastings said. “She really doesn’t deserve to be there. She deserves to be with my mother.”

Anyone who has information can contact the Wise County Sheriff’s Office at (940) 627-5971 or Texas EquuSearch at (281) 309-9500.