Cecelia "CeCe" Barber Finona, 59, was last seen on May 30 at the home where she was living with her fiancé, Jerry Jay, and her mother, according to Farmington Police Department spokeswoman Nicole Brown.
Finona's mother told investigators that the two were arguing that night and one of them left the house.
Two days later, Finona's mother discovered something was wrong. Finona, and his white Ford truck, were gone. But his bag and driver's license were abandoned, court documents revealed.
Investigators say foul play is suspected in its loss.
On June 5, police were found. Jay had used a payment card at an ATM in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card belonged to Finona, police said.
He also used his cards in Farmington, New Mexico, Window Rock, Arizona and Kingman, Arizona, police said. The total reduction was over $ 1,200.
Jay, 57, was arrested and charged with one count of illegal withdrawal from a financial institution. He remains in prison in Reno, Nevada.
He has not been charged with Finona's disappearance and police say this is being investigated as a case of a missing person.
A forensic examination found at the ATM did not show Finona and Jay, police said.
A missing person report was filed on June 1 and the family launched a search in Farmington and the Navajo Nation.
According to a court document, blood in Finona's house was flowing from the floor of the hall to the street and it appeared someone had tried to cover it with soil. A lens "one of the glass covered in blood" was also found, police said.
"The Farmington Police Department is very concerned about the safety of Cecelia Finona," Chief Steve Hebbe said in a statement. "Based on Jerry Jay's action so far, we believe he is a person of interest in this case and has information that is very important to make sure he returns safely."
Finona's daughter, Julietta Faria, who lives in Washington state, told Dateline the last time she spoke to her mother the day before she disappeared.
"My mom and I were really close," Faria said. "He was my partner every time I got in my car. He was the one I talked to and everything - every day."
Faria said her mother returned to New Mexico after 31 years in the US Army and was reunited with Jay, who had been released from prison, where he was serving a second-degree murder as well as two counts of aggravated domestic battery, and records of the court.
The couple were accustomed to boarding school.
Farmington police are continuing an investigation into Finona's disappearance.
"The cases of missing persons are always difficult and the Farmington Police Department is very concerned about Cecelia's safety, as the governor said, spokeswoman Nicole Brown told Dateline. Our investigators are working full time on this case."
Cecelia Finona is described as 5'3 ”and weighs approximately 150 pounds. She has brown hair, brown eyes and sometimes wears glasses.
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