It’s been almost two years since Maricris Drouaillet heard her sister’s voice or saw her smile, and she’d give anything to be able to give her a hug.
"The first day we couldn’t find her, it’s nerve wracking, it’s really hard and the first couple days I said, you know she’ll be home and we’re counting days, and then we started counting the months, and now it’s two years," said Drouaillet.
May "Maya" Millete, 39 years-old, went missing on Jan. 7, 2021. San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan charged Maya's husband, Larry Millete, with her murder. The first hearing in the case will be next week, and authorities still have not found her body.
"Hopefully the truth comes out and hopefully if he had anything to do with my sister that he will have a change of heart and then that he will let us know where my sister is and bring her home that’s all I wanted," Drouaillet said.
She said her family still goes out and searches. She often wishes this case got more media attention, but faces like her sister’s fade away with time.
"I get jealous sometimes," Drouaillet said. "It’s just unfortunate that we still have that mentality with different colors but it’s just unfortunate for us but I’m not giving up though you know (i'm) still putting my sister’s name out there because I still feel like I need help from the public." She does find comfort in the many who do support her family in prayer groups, on social media and especially her large, Filipino family of cousins, aunties and uncles.
She said that Maya loved her three children more than anything in the world, had a generous heart and supported many causes in her community. She wants Maya’s life to be celebrated, because she brought joy wherever she went and was always the life of the party. So even while their hearts are breaking, Drouaillet said the family makes an effort to have their large family gatherings and celebrate birthdays and holidays and do it in a big way, just like Maya loved to do.
"She doesn’t want anybody to be sad, she wants to celebrate, she wants us to be happy and celebrate birthdays, and any occasions, that’s why we always say, this is what Maya wants," she said.
And what has kept this tight knit family going?
"Our faith and my sister’s spirit, possibly because I was thinking she’s out there and she needs to be found and not giving up hope," she said.
We reached out to the District Attorney about the case to ask if there was still an active search for the body, they said they do not comment on pending cases.
