The mother of a 4-year-old boy has been missing for more than three months

SAN ANTONIO – The mother of a 4-year-old boy has been missing for more than three months. Now the missing woman’s mother and the little boy’s grandmother believe she may have been killed.

Kate Vara’s mother, Valerie Mendoza, says her daughter was last seen on August 6. The family, including 4-year-old James, celebrated Vara’s 27th birthday without her on September 8.

“(James) asks, ‘Where’s mom?’ Because we’re celebrating mom’s birthday, and we’re doing something for mom, and mom’s not here,” Mendoza said,

“(James) said to me himself, ‘Mummy’s missing’ and I said, ‘Yeah baby, Mummy’s missing’ and he said, ‘Where’s mummy’ and I said, ‘I don’t know where mummy is.’ na, but we will find her, Mendoza said.

Mendoza said Vara had a substance abuse problem but was going to get treatment at a clinic on San Antonio’s West Side. August 6 was the day of one of her dates.

“She came to the reception. The camera recorded her leaving, coming to the meeting and leaving, and then no one saw her after that,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza says things got confusing in the days after Vara disappeared. One of Vara’s friends said he dropped her off at a random house on the West Side, not far from where she lived, around 1 a.m. on Aug. 9, but Vara left her phone in his car.

“I ask, why didn’t you return it? I even asked him what she was wearing when he dropped her off and he couldn’t even tell me that. He was just going around in circles saying something else and now nobody can find him,” Mendoza said.

San Antonio has not named the man as a potential suspect. SAPD says there have been no updates on the case. However, Mendoza told us that SAPD’s Homicide Unit is currently assisting the Missing Persons Unit in Vara’s case.

“Do you believe she’s still there?” asked KSAT reporter John Paul Barajas.

“I feel like she’s gone, with what people in Kate’s neighborhood are saying, I feel like she’s gone, but regardless, I want her to come home,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza explained that people on the West Side, where Kate lives, began to speculate. At this point, Mendoza has raised $3,000 in reward money, hoping someone will tip him off. She tries to stay strong for James.

“It’s so hard because I never thought this would be our life,” Mendoza said. “To the people who are responsible, I will never stop looking, no, I’m going to keep looking, and when I find her, I’m going to get justice for her,” Mendoza said.