A Auckland mother, missing now for two weeks, worked as an escort in the city, police say.
Carmen Thomas, 32, was last seen in Auckland on July 1 and was reported missing to police on Tuesday.
Her car, a black Nissan Pulsar with the registration number ATS209, was found in
Hamilton on July 5.
A number of Ms Thomas' personal items were found in the car, along with cash. There had been no activity on her mobile phone since midway through last week.
Acting Detective Inspector Mark Benefield said it was out of character for Ms Thomas not to be in contact with her five-year-old son, for whom she has shared custody, for two weeks. Fears for her safety were growing, he said.
"We've had a few of her associates call us to talk to us about her today, but we're still no more advanced at finding her at this stage.
"One confirmed that she has worked as an escort and he wanted to know if we knew that."
Carmen's son was with her ex-partner and was safe and well, he said.
"We've got concerns for her safety. Her account hasn't been touched, and her phone is no longer being used.
"We've been advised that she was unwell towards the end of June and it's possible she has sought medical treatment somewhere in the past two weeks."
Several hospital checks throughout the country over the past three days had turned up nothing, he said.
Police will continue to work through associates and phone calls over the weekend, and area inquiries will continue around the Hamilton area where the car was found.
"We'll see if we can pick her up on CCTV footage so we can confirm she was in Hamilton."
Mr Benefield asked anyone who might have seen her or with information about her disappearance to contact police.
She was described as caucasian, with a fair complexion and long brown hair. She was about 1.7m tall with a medium to heavy build. She wore two sets of earrings in each ear and was usually well-presented.
- NZPA
