Woman who disappeared during cross-country trip with boyfriend to OC possibly spotted in NorCal

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A woman who went missing while on a cross-country road trip to Orange County with her boyfriend is believed to have been spotted in Northern California.

Worried family members are hopeful after Nikki Alcaraz was possibly seen at a Walmart in Redding on Saturday. A photo was taken when she reportedly sold her phone at an EcoATM.

Her brother Josh says he 100% believes she is in danger.

"It's not like her to not reach out to anybody, especially her kids."

He added that she's known her boyfriend, Tyler Stratton, for at least 15 years.

Alcaraz left her home in Tennessee for a road trip in her black Jeep with Stratton and a dog. They planned to travel to Orange County to visit her family, but three weeks ago, the 33-year-old mother disappeared in Moriarty, New Mexico.

"There's a lot of possibilities that I'm scared of after not hearing from her for three weeks now," said Toni Alcaraz, Nikki's sister.

There were signs of trouble when the couple reached New Mexico.

On May 4, a Torrance County Sheriff's Department report showed Alcaraz with a black eye. A witness said Stratton punched her in the face. The report says Stratton claimed he was also hit.

A family is searching for answers after they say their loved one disappeared during a cross-country trip to SoCal with her boyfriend, who is also missing.

Neither one chose to press charges. They left the police station separately.

Alcaraz was dropped off by police in Moriarty where she called her sister.

"Her eye was already turning black and you could tell she was beat up pretty bad," Toni Alcaraz said.

A family friend drove to New Mexico and met up with Alcaraz, hoping to bring her to California. But on the day they were supposed to leave she told him she had to go back and find her boyfriend.

On May 9, Toni Alcaraz received a text from her sister saying she was in Arizona and planned to continue driving to California.

A license plate reader picked up Alcaraz's Jeep near Flagstaff, Arizona earlier this month, but police said her phone appears to be out of service.

Her brother is now pleading for her to come home.

"I immediately tried calling her and it went straight to voicemail," said Josh Alcaraz. "I sent texts that are still undelivered. She always has her phone so that's when it was really concerning."

Stratton has an unrelated arrest warrant out of Tennessee, tied to a theft charge.

Nikki's family is now begging that if people see them to please call police.