OAKLEY, CA – FEBRUARY 6: Neighborhood members stroll alongside Oakley Street on their technique to metropolis corridor to carry a vigil for Alexis Gabe on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Oakley, Calif. Gabe disappeared on January 26, 2022. (Aric Crabb/Bay Space Information Group)
Round 200 group members from Oakley met on Sunday afternoon to lift consciousness surrounding the case of 24-year-old Alexis Gabe, who has been lacking for the reason that finish of January and whose disappearance has rattled and annoyed the quiet Contra Costa County city.
“It’s arduous,” stated Megan Granado, a buddy of Gabe’s since freshman 12 months of highschool who joined others at Sunday’s gathering. “When it's a must to get up each day and never speak to that individual, it feels actual.”
Sitting alongside her pals, and as a tear dropped down her face, Granado stated, “It positively sucks if you sit and suppose, you possibly can’t simply name her and speak to her proper now.”
Gabe, a resident of Oakley, was final seen in Antioch on the night of Jan. 26. The subsequent day, relations discovered her silver sedan in Oakley unlocked and with the keys nonetheless inside, police stated. On Feb. 2, police carried out a search warrant on the dwelling of an ex-boyfriend of Gabe’s. Since then, police haven't offered any updates, however are calling the disappearance “suspicious.”
Billboards have gone up in each Stockton and alongside Freeway 4 in Contra Costa County urging members of the general public to succeed in out with any info — and group members are passing out fliers and have carried out searches of the realm.
On Sunday, group members from Oakley and surrounding cities met on the intersection the place Gabe’s automotive was discovered and handed out T-shirts with a black and white picture of her face and the phrases “Keep Robust” on the again.
Neighborhood members then walked a mile from the intersection to metropolis corridor and the police station, with vehicles blaring their horns in help and fliers of Gabe’s face plastered on nearly each road nook and street signal. The occasion was organized by Morgan Strenfel, the girlfriend of Gabe’s brother Gwyn who has been offering updates by way of a Fb web page referred to as “Assist Convey Alexis Gabe Residence“. Members of the family have additionally created a GoFundMe web page, and have thus far raised over $12,000.
Strenfel described Gabe as somebody with an incredible humorousness.
“She was all the time making folks snort,” she stated. “Very witty. Humorous. Fast to the joke. She’s tremendous artistic. She loves to attract. Very inventive. She loves style. She loves thrifting. We simply actually miss her presence. She is a lightweight in any scenario. Her absence is difficult.”
Strenfel believes that police are taking the case severely, including that the variety of officers on the case has gone from two to 25.
Oakley police spokesman Brian Foreman stated he couldn't present a precise variety of workers engaged on the case, however stated, “We're utilizing all of our assets and having patrol personnel help in our investigations unit.”
However others at Sunday’s occasion stated that the case could also be greater than the police division can chew on. With a inhabitants of a bit of greater than 40,000, Oakley is situated within the japanese a part of Contra Costa County.
“I don’t suppose they’re used to issues like this,” stated Terry Riggs, a resident of neighboring Brentwood. She added that the incident is uncommon for the extra quiet, suburban and rural group.
Others at Sunday’s gathering agreed.
“These items don’t occur in Oakley,” stated Theresa Onadele, who lived in Oakley for years however now resides in Brentwood. “When it hits dwelling, it unnerves you. And it makes you are feeling there’s a sense of unsafety. And it shakes your very core.”
Gabe’s brother, mom and father all attended Sunday’s occasion. Gabe’s father, Wyn, declined an interview. “We try to maintain a low profile,” he stated.
Gabe was final seen sporting a white tank high, a silver and black hooded sweatshirt, black pants and inexperienced and white footwear, in response to a Fb publish from the town. Police are describing her as an Asian feminine who's 5-foot-7 and weighs 170 kilos.
Oakley police are encouraging members of the general public who could have seen Gabe or who've extra info to name 925-625-8060.
