Wash. Woman’s Friends and Coworkers Hold Vigil After ‘Suspicious’ Disappearance: ‘We Just Want Answers’

Cristina Ase, a 61-year-old nursing director at Rose Linn Care Center, was last heard from when she left her home on the morning of Tuesday, March 26

A community in Vancouver, Washington, is praying for the safe return of a beloved healthcare worker who has been missing for two weeks.

Cristina Ase, a 61-year-old nursing director at Rose Linn Care Center, was last heard from when she left her home on the morning of Tuesday, March 26, the Vancouver Police Department explained in a news alert.

"She normally reports to work at about 7:30. She had texted another work colleague she was going to be late and then never showed up," the West Linn, Oregon center's executive director, Brady Waldroff, told KOIN. "When I reached out to her husband, her husband was shocked when I told him she hadn't gotten to work."

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A day later, Ase's vehicle was found abandoned, prompting the Vancouver Police Department, Portland Police Bureau, and West Linn Police Department to launch a joint investigation.

The Vancouver Police Department said that Ase's husband, coworkers, and friends are cooperating with law enforcement and noted in a later update on Friday, April 5 that "police believe her disappearance is suspicious and far outside of what her normal pattern consists of."

"VPD is attempting to locate Cristina Ase, who was last seen the morning of March 26. Please share this flyer and contact the detectives listed in the flyer if you have any information," added the department.

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That same day, more than 50 of Ase's friends and coworkers attended a Friday, April 5 vigil at the Rose Linn Care Center, where she's worked for the past 15 years.

According to KOIN, Ase's loved ones have "put up hundreds of flyers, started Facebook groups, and even searched the rivers to try and bring her home." Waldroff told the outlet that the most agonizing part of Ase's disappearance is "the sheer confusion and dumbfoundedness of what happened and why."

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“She was the heart and soul here, and she is missed and we just want answers and we want her back,” said Waldroff.

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