Nikki Alcaraz, a Tennessee woman who disappeared on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, was found safe in New Mexico, police said Tuesday.
Police in the Californian city of Redding reported that the 33-year-old woman was contacted by the Eureka Police Department to report that she was safe.
However, Redding authorities contacted the Moriarty, New Mexico Police Department to confirm if Alcaraz was no longer considered a missing person.
Her boyfriend, Tyler Stratton, has reportedly been arrested, but details of his arrest have not been immediately available, ABC7 reported.
Reports said Alcaraz left his Tennessee home for a cross-country trip in a black Jeep with Stratton and a dog. The goal was to get to Orange County, California, to visit his family, but he was reported missing in Moriarty, New Mexico.
“There are many possibilities that I am afraid of after not hearing from her for three weeks,” said Toni Alcaraz, Nikki’s sister.
A report from the Torrance County Sheriff’s Department indicated that Alcaraz had problems with her partner, to the point of being punched in the face. The same report noted that Stratton claimed to have been beaten as well.
Neither chose to press charges, and they left the police station separately, the sheriff’s department added.
“Her eye was already turning black and you could tell she was pretty beaten up,” Toni added.
The last person to see Alcaraz was a family friend, who drove to New Mexico to take her to California, but the woman told him she had to go back and find her boyfriend.
The last message Toni received from her sister was on May 9, when she told her that she was in Arizona and planned to continue on her way to California.
Stratton is reported to have an unrelated warrant for his arrest in Tennessee, tied to a burglary charge.