MISSING WOMAN FOUND ALIVE IN MEXICO MORE THAN A YEAR AFTER DISAPPEARING

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — A 39-year-old Ukrainian woman who disappeared during a cross-country road trip has been found alive in Mexico more than a year after her vehicle and camper trailer were discovered abandoned in Southern California.

Ganna Kovrizhynkh, who also goes by the name Angel Volnaya, was reported missing in July 2025. Investigators with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said they established contact with her on Aug. 7, 2026, and subsequently verified her identity. Authorities believe she is currently staying in Sinaloa, Mexico.

HER VEHICLE WAS FOUND ABANDONED

Kovrizhynkh was traveling from Florida toward California when family and friends lost contact with her.

According to investigators, she was last heard from on July 5, 2025, while traveling through San Diego County.

Her Jeep Grand Cherokee and camper trailer were later discovered abandoned on private property in Potrero, a rural community near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The circumstances initially raised concerns because Kovrizhynkh had apparently left behind her vehicle and trailer without telling friends or family where she was going.

AN UNSETTLING MESSAGE TO HER MOTHER

The investigation took an especially puzzling turn after Kovrizhynkh sent her mother a photograph of a letter along with GPS coordinates in Potrero.

According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, the letter contained instructions concerning her personal assets and directed that they be given to her mother.

Days later, her vehicle and trailer were found abandoned.

Investigators spent months attempting to determine where she had gone and whether she had crossed the border into Mexico.

INVESTIGATORS BELIEVED SHE CROSSED INTO MEXICO

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said investigators eventually believed Kovrizhynkh had voluntarily crossed into Mexico.

Authorities continued following leads after the initial search in California failed to locate her.

After making contact with her in August 2026, investigators confirmed that she was alive and notified the Ukrainian Embassy of her whereabouts.

A MISSING-PERSON CASE WITH AN UNEXPECTED ENDING

For more than a year, Kovrizhynkh’s disappearance had left family members and investigators with unanswered questions.

Her abandoned vehicle, the message to her mother and the sudden loss of communication had fueled uncertainty over what had happened.

Now, authorities say the mystery has taken a far different turn: Kovrizhynkh is alive and believed to be living in Mexico.

The Sheriff’s Office has not indicated that she was the victim of a crime.

THE SEARCH FINALLY HAS AN ANSWER

The discovery brings relief to those who had spent more than a year wondering whether Kovrizhynkh would ever be found.

Investigators continue to regard the case as resolved from the standpoint of locating her, while details surrounding her decision to leave her vehicle and cross into Mexico remain private.

After more than a year of uncertainty, a missing woman whose abandoned vehicle and mysterious message sparked an extensive search has finally been located alive. For her family, the most important answer has arrived: Ganna Kovrizhynkh is safe.
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