Friends and family of a young Melbourne woman are desperately searching for her after she failed to board her flight home from a holiday in the United States last Saturday. Sally Contarino, 26, has not been heard from since, prompting a missing persons report with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Last contact and missed flight
Contarino was travelling alone, as she has done on several previous trips to America over the past four years, with a particular focus on Palm Springs and Las Vegas, according to her best friend Jonah Greenwell, 25. She had just had a night out in Las Vegas when she last spoke to Greenwell, he told 7NEWS.com.au. “She’d done a little bit of gambling for the first time and had won a little bit, only a small amount, but she was happy,” he said.
The friends planned another phone call for within the following 12 hours, and Greenwell said Contarino never mentioned she would be extending her travel or going off-grid. The next day, she was uncontactable. “She just said she wanted to call me to talk about the night and then she never did,” Greenwell said. “At first I thought maybe her phone broke. She’s missed a flight in the past before, but she’s always made it home.”
Investigation and police involvement
The hostel Contarino had been staying in told an investigating consular officer that Contarino had checked out on Saturday morning, using the self-service checkout option rather than at a front desk. A missing persons report has now been filed with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. It is believed Contarino may have been in the Nevada or California area before she was reported missing.
Greenwell said police have been in touch with airports to confirm that Contarino has not boarded any other flights, and put hospitals on alert in case she had been admitted. He said police have also been in touch with park rangers, advising them to keep an eye out for Contarino at national parks, which she enjoyed visiting for hikes on her travels.
Appeal for information
Anyone with information about Contarino’s whereabouts is urged to contact the LVMPD. 7NEWS.com.au has contacted DFAT for comment.
