Missing woman reportedly sent panicked texts to loved ones before disappearance: ‘He’s gonna kill me if I don’t get away’

A woman in Colorado who hasn’t been heard from since late July reportedly sent friends and family alarming texts before her disappearance.

KMGH reported that Erin Vandewiele, 40, moved from Wisconsin to Denver weeks before she vanished. A friend reported her missing on July 23, after not hearing from Vandewiele following a series of concerning texts.

One of those texts reportedly said, “He’s gonna kill me if I don’t get away from him today.”

According to the news outlet, Vandewiele made the move with Joe Mayer, a man she had been seeing. Mayer was arrested on unrelated outstanding warrants in Denver and was extradited to Wisconsin.

The missing woman’s sister, Mandi Schmidt, told KMGH that Vandewiele’s identification and social security cards were found on a Regional Transportation District bus in Denver. The Dunn County News reported that the remainder of her belongings were located in a Denver hotel room.

Despite this, authorities are reportedly treating her disappearance as a missing persons case.

“I guess we have no reason to believe that there was any foul play,” said Dunn County Sheriff Dennis Smith told The Dunn County News. “But, we don’t have any reason to believe that there wasn’t any foul play. Some of her belongings were located out there, and she hasn’t been seen for quite some time.”

Schmidt revealed to the newspaper that her sister deals with anxiety and depression. Before her disappearance, Schmidt said she feared for her life and regretted going to Colorado with Mayer.

Vandewiele was described as being 5-foot-5-inches, 115 pounds, and having brown hair, brown eyes, and a tattoo on her forearm that says, “I do what I want.”

The family told KMGH that they believe she was in the areas of downtown Denver and Lakewood, staying in various hotels and homeless shelters.

Anyone with information regarding Erin Vandewiele’s whereabouts can call Denver police at 720-913-6653.

[Featured image: Erin Vandewiele/Handout]