The family of an East Bay woman, who was found murdered near the banks of the Napa River, spoke out Monday, saying they’re heartbroken and confused about the circumstances surrounding her death.
It all started the morning of Jan. 18, when a couple of bicyclists riding near the marsh area of River Park in Vallejo spotted a body floating in the distance.
Police identified the victim as 41-year-old Dayna Jones.
A day before her body was found, police were notified by one of Dayna’ co-workers that she’d been missing for nearly two weeks.
Now, her family is trying to piece together what happened in the time between when she disappeared and when her body was found.
“Specifically we’re looking for anyone who’ve seen or observed Ms. Jones between Jan. 3 and Jan. 18,” said Sergeant Rashad Hollis of the Vallejo Police Department.
“It’s just been devastating, hard to live every day without her and her presence,” said Dayna’s sister Kindra Jones.
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Her and her siblings are trying to process why this happened to their sister.
“Something is off,” said her brother Robert Jones. “This is not her, to not even talk or reach out to anyone in that time frame.”
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“Just mainly why? What happened? To where this is the outcome? I don’t know,” said Stacy Jones.
The family had just moved to Vallejo from Richmond back in August.
Since Dayna still worked at a Richmond post office, she opted to stay at a nearby hotel to avoid the commute, coming back to their Vallejo home periodically.
Communication between the family and Dayna waned during the holiday season, so they were surprised to hear she was last seen in Vallejo.
Dayna’s sister says an unknown co-worker showed up at her job to tell her Dayna was staying in her Vallejo apartment in the days before she went missing on Jan. 3.
The co-worker said Dayna was at her apartment when she left for work, but when she returned, Dayna was missing. She also says the conditions of the apartment were a bit off.
“She said all the lights in the house were on, all the windows open, the TV was up, the front door was left open,” said Stacy.
Vallejo police say they don't have a lot to go on and that's why they're now asking the public to come forward with any information.
The family says finding those responsible for Dayna’s death would at least provide them a sense of closure for a life that ended too soon.
“She will forever be missed, and you took that from us” said Dayna’s sister Kimberly Jones. “Please, please anyone with information.”
“Dayna was the type of person she’d give you her last dollar to make sure you’re OK,” said Robert. “For somebody to take her life like that, it makes no sense.”
