SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – There were some coming to Palomar Mountain State Park for a carefree hike in the wilderness on Tuesday morning.
However, there were some on a mission to find their missing loved one, Angelica Brophy.
“There are two trails. There's the Dome Trail, Valley Trail here, and there's a Thunder Trail over here, and we're going to pretty much just scour this whole thing,” Ramon Fabregas, Angelica Brophy’s brother, said.
Fabregas and nearly a dozen volunteers hiked and searched the trails of Palomar Mountain State Park for his sister. The Oceanside mother of two has been missing for more than a week.
“We are out here with volunteers, with friends and family just doing our own search, and we are just going to keep on pushing until we find her,” Fabregas said.
Brophy hadn't been seen since July 6 when she was reported missing to Oceanside Police at around 9:30 p.m.
On the morning of her disappearance, Brophy dropped off her daughter at a camp in Oceanside. Surveillance cameras captured her leaving Harrah's Resort in Valley Center around 3:30 p.m. that afternoon. A parking slip showed her car arriving at Palomar Mountain State Park at 4:20 p.m.
On July 8, detectives contacted Brophy's cell phone carrier and attempted to ping her phone. The ping was unable to provide any information because her phone was either turned off or its battery was dead.
Brophy's vehicle was found in the parking lot of Palomar Mountain State Park on July 9. Officers with California State Parks, supported by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's Search and Rescue team, launched a search that same evening.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office told ABC 10News many members of the Search and Rescue (SAR) team assisted Oceanside Police in the search on foot, on horseback, with K-9 units and more over the last couple of days in the park that covers more than 1,800 acres.
The Sheriff’s Office said that “the terrain SAR is covering is extremely rugged, remote, and presents several hazards. The terrain includes heavy brush, canyons, cliffs, and multiple hazards (i.e. rattlesnakes, mountain lions, and massive groves of poison oak). All of this coupled with an extremely high heat index and elevated wildfire risk conditions."
On July 12, California State Parks dive team members searched a pond within the park. Those efforts were unsuccessful. San Diego Harbor Police Department divers returned to the pond Monday, July 13, to continue the search.
On Tuesday, Fabregas said seeing the number of volunteers come out was representative of who his sister is: loving and caring.
“I'm very humbled to see the Search and Rescue team from the Sheriff's Department, Oceanside PD out here doing the same thing. And that just makes you feel better that we're going to, we're going to find her soon,” Fabregas said.
Some who came out to volunteer their time and effort was Amiee Smith, who never met Brophy.
“I hiked this area, and I just wanted to come out and help any way that I can,” Smith said. “We just honestly want to help someone else, you know, and help another family in need that's missing their family member, and I would want people to do that for me, but I think that just kind of says something about humanity to the core.”
ABC 10News also reached out to the Oceanside Police Department regarding any updates to the investigation and search for Brophy. We haven’t heard back at this time.
