The family of a missing Texas woman who served in the National Guard, is desperate to find her but fears foul play may have been involved in her disappearance.
Prisma Denisse Peralta Reyes, 26, who lives in Mesquite, Texas, has not been seen since April 17, 2019. She was reported missing after she did not pick up her six-year-old son from the babysitter’s house in Old East Dallas that evening.
“I believe that she’s still with us, and I’ll believe that, well, until I can be proven otherwise,” Prisma’s stepfather, Dan Fuchs, told Dateline. “But I’m really afraid something bad happened to her. And that someone out there is responsible. I know the police are doing what they can, but we are just frustrated. We just want her back.”
The Mesquite Police Department is leading the investigation with the help of Dallas Police.
Lieutenant Stephen Biggs with the Mesquite Police Department told NBC 5 they've interviewed hundreds of people in the case, but are still at a loss as to what happened to Prisma.
"It's a very challenging case," Lt. Biggs said. "Unfortunately, leads have been few and far between."
Authorities said Prisma left her job at a car dealership for lunch around noon on April 17 and never returned. She was spotted having lunch with an ex-boyfriend at the E Bar Tex Mex restaurant located on North Haskell Avenue. The man left, but police said Prisma stayed at the restaurant and continued drinking until police said she was asked to leave.
"There was some sort of verbal disturbance and she was asked to leave the premises," Lt. Biggs said. He could not say whether Prisma was intoxicated when she left, but confirmed to NBC 5 that the bartender had stopped serving her drinks.
After she left the restaurant, Prisma was involved in a verbal road rage incident with a driver nearby and officers responded to the scene. Prisma had already left by the time they arrived, but police said they don't believe the road rage incident was related to her disappearance.
In August, police released security video that shows Prisma on April 17, the day she vanished, running into the garage of the Olympus at Ross apartments along Ross Avenue. Police confirmed to NBC 5 that Prisma’s ex-boyfriend, with whom she had had lunch, lived in the apartment building, but was not home when she arrived.
The video shows Prisma swaying back and forth as she talked on her cell phone and got onto an elevator where another resident later revealed to police that she was crying.
Police said they have identified and spoken to the person with whom Prisma had been on the phone, but they did not have any information on her whereabouts.
“The hope is with the video someone sees her clothing, sees her mannerisms, maybe they recognize her,” Lt. Biggs said during a press conference in August. “Maybe they remember seeing her somewhere, and they’ll reach out to us and identify the location of her whereabouts.”
Prisma was never seen leaving the building, but police said not all of the exits have cameras. Her white 2017 Jeep Wrangler was found the next day at the same apartment complex.
"This is very challenging," Lt. Biggs told NBC 5 in August. "Just the fact that she's seen on video one minute and the next minute she's gone and unfortunately we just haven't gotten a lot of leads on this case."
Dan, who has been in Prisma's life since she was five years old, told Dateline he thinks she looks distraught in the video and believes it’s possible something terrible happened to her while she was at the apartment complex.
He added that Prisma's disappearance has been hard on the entire family, especially her young son. He has been staying with Prisma's mother, Lilia Peralta.
“He’s so intelligent for a 6-year-old, but he’s having a hard time understanding what’s going on,” Dan said. “He keeps asking for his mother. He knows something is wrong, but we’re trying to just keep everything as normal as we can for him.”
Police told NBC 5 there is nothing that indicates foul play at this time, but they are concerned that no one has heard from Prisma in months.
Along with working at the car dealership, Prisma is a paralegal and served in the National Guard. Her family said she adores her son and would never leave him behind voluntarily.
Prisma is described as 5’2” and weighs around 135 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information about Prisma’s whereabouts is urged to call the Mesquite Police Department at 972-285-6336.