Missing North Carolina Women: Lesbian Couple's Disappearance 'Suspicious,' Sister Blames Police Response

A recently engaged couple from North Carolina has been missing since April, and now, the family of one of the women has taken local police to task over the investigation.

Stephanie Mayorga, 27, and Paige Escalera, 25, were last seen leaving their home in the city of Wilmington on the night of April 15, departing in a gray 2013 Dodge Dart. Concern for the couple grew when Mayorga failed to come into work the next day and did not answer calls from her boss. Her phone is believed to have been turned off since the night she was last seen.

Escalera had left her phone behind and police took it as evidence on April 19. She had also reportedly started blocking close friends on Facebook prior to her disappearance, making the situation seem more and more suspicious.

Stevie Jenkins, Escalera’s sister, has criticized police for not taking enough action to find the missing couple. In an interview with Oxygen, Jenkins said that she had recently been reconnecting with Escalera and fears her sister may have gotten into some kind of trouble before going missing.

“A missing person's report was filed 3 days after their roommate hadn't seen them,” Escalera said in a Facebook post. “She gave my sisters phone that was left at the apartment to police for evidence to which they didn't even use to find any of Paige's immediate contacts for information. No work has been done to find them until yesterday when the roommate called multiple times for updates with no help from the department. She doesn't know either of them well… but investigated enough to find Stephanie's last name and parents' info.”

Police on Wednesday said that the couple’s apartment showed no signs of foul play with most of their possessions still in place. Police also described their disappearance as being under "suspicious" circumstances.

“It is not unusual for persons of this age group to be spontaneous,” Wilmington Police Chief Thomas Tilmon said at a press conference. “It was unusual that the roommates did not come back home and that they had left their property.”

Mayorga was last seen wearing a black Nike sweating that read “Just Do It,” black leggings with white stripes, and black shoes. Escalera was wearing a gray sweatshirt, black leggings, and black shoes with white stripes. Mayorga has a tattoo on her wrist and Escalera has tattoos on both arms as well as a beauty mark on her right cheek.

Police urge anyone with information pertaining to the case to reach out at (910) 343-3620.