Vigil for missing CSU Fullerton student: ‘Have you seen Mirabel?’

Friends and family members gathered Monday night at a vigil for a missing Cal State Fullerton student, who disappeared on May 2.

Maribel Manriquez Ramos, a former Army sergeant who served in South Korea and Iraq, was just weeks away from graduating with a degree in criminal justice.

She was last seen on surveillance video outside her apartment building around 8:30 p.m. on May 2.

She was reported missing a few days later after she failed to show up at a veterans’ appreciation dinner where she was supposed to give a speech.

“We don’t have any evidence that would substantiate a crime did occur,” said Sgt. Fred Lopez, a spokesman for the Orange Police Department. Although there was no sign of foul play, disappearing without alerting those close to her seemed out of character, he added.

“She would never walk away from commitments, never walk away from family,” Lopez said.

Ramos left behind her car and her dog, a Chihuahua mix named Mia, a constant at her side. It appears that she had her cellphone and wallet when she vanished.

According to police, her bank account and credit cards have not been touched.

About 150 people gathered at the vigil, where they prayed for her safe return. Some wore T-shirts with the 36-year-old woman’s photo, with “Have you seen Mirabel?” in bold, black letters.

“We’re all just here praying that we find her, that she comes home soon,” her cousin Andrea Ramos said. “We just want her home safe.”

Ramos has lived in Orange for two years with her roommate.

The roommate told Ramos’ sister that when he left the apartment on May 2, she was there. When he returned home, she was gone.

Family and friends joined with officials to launch an online search. They’ve organized a website and a Facebook page, handed out fliers and are making T-shirts with photographs of Ramos, described as 5 feet, 3 inches tall and about 130 pounds, with shoulder-length brown hair. She has tattoos of an Aztec tribal symbol on her back and a star on her left shoulder.

Anyone with information or who might have seen Ramos is asked to call the Orange Police Department at (714) 744-7403.

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