JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Throughout the month of November, First Coast News is featuring a new missing persons case every Thursday. This week, we are taking a deeper look into the disappearance of Valerie Santisteban.
"It was a shock, especially to me," Adriana Borbon said. "Because she just loved being with her children."
It has been four years and no answers for Borbon about what happened to her daughter, Valerie.
"She was very adventurous. She was always doing something with the children and just kind of happy all the time," Borbon said.
In September of 2020, 36-year-old Valerie Santisteban and her husband, Jonathan, were at the Life Storage on Deerwood Park Blvd. They were homeless and kept their belongings in a unit there.
Valerie's four children were living with Borbon, but she says Valerie kept in close contact with them.
"She loved her children, very much," she said.
According to reports, around 11 p.m. on Sept. 26 of 2020, Johnathan left to get some food. When he returned, Valerie was gone. She was reported as missing to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office six days later.
"We have not been able to get a location or direction of travel since," Det. Lesley Tzanev with the Missing Persons Unit said.
She said investigators went out to the storage unit and unfortunately, by that time, there was no surveillance video. They saw Valerie's belongings were still there, yet there were no signs of forced entry or violence in the unit.
"We believe she just left, whether that be to meet somebody or something happened," Tzanev said. "Whatever the case may be, we just don't know."
Without a financial history to trace, Tzanev said they focused on asking around in the homeless community.
"A lot of our investigation was getting her picture out there," Tzanev said. "All the transients in the area, shelters and we checked the hospitals in the area, but movement within those circles is one of the hardest things we have to work with."
She said some people did report seeing her, but they weren't sure if it was after Sept. 26 or not, so nothing helpful to create a timeline. Adriana Borbon said Valerie was having a hard time back then and may have felt hopeless.
"I'm just concerned that someone may have talked her into leaving or something like that," Borbon said. "So for her to be out there like that without us is just really difficult, I am sure it has got to be hard for her too. Whatever is going on, why didn't she come back home? Why didn't she call one of us?"
She wants Valerie to know, she is deeply loved and missed by her children.
"Her kids love her so much, whenever they see a picture of her they start asking questions," Borbon said, tears in her eyes. "So it has been hard."
So where is Valerie Santisteban? Right now that's still a mystery. But Tzanev says if someone recognizes Valerie's photo or has seen her since September of 2020 - they want to hear from you.
"We believe she could still be out there living and being homeless and in a circle of people that just don't know she is missing," Tzanev said.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Valerie Santisteban, call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS(8477) or the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or email at JSOCrimeTips@JaxSheriff.org.