Go behind the headlines as NewsNation’s “Missing” investigates missing person cases from across the country, from cold cases to the latest developing stories. Tune into our latest case’s digital show each Friday where we speak to loved ones and examine the case. Subscribe to our newsletter here.
(NewsNation) — The family of Bianca Carrasco, missing since 2016, is making a renewed push to locate her, including billboards in San Antonio, Texas, and a social media campaign.
A relationship turns rocky
Carrasco’s sister, Jovanna Burney, describes her as a beloved sister, wife and mother with a huge heart.
“She was very compassionate. That’s what made her a wonderful nurse,” Burney said.
Julie Stinson met Carrasco in nursing school when they were both young moms. She said Carrasco’s husband was often away working on the oil fields but to her, they seemed like a cute couple.
“I saw him tie her shoes whenever she was pregnant instead of her having to bend over,” Stinson said.
Carrasco married her husband when she was 18 and he was 11 years older. He was previously her uncle by marriage, having been married to her mother’s sister.
Carrasco’s sister said by the time the couple moved to San Antonio, their relationship had turned rocky and Carrasco’s husband frequently shared their troubles with family members.
“It was almost like he was panicked that he was losing her,” Burney said.
Meanwhile, Carrasco was said to be confiding to co-workers about an affair she’d had and her husband’s reaction when he found out.
“She was sharing a lot with her co-workers about what was going on,” Burney said. “They actually knew a lot more than I did.”
Bianca Carrasco disappears
Carrasco’s co-workers said she had even joked about it as she left work the Friday before she disappeared.
“(She said) ‘Well, if I go missing, you know what happened to me,'” Burney said.
Burney said that Sunday, she spoke to her sister around 2 p.m., and offered to take the kids to get them away from fighting between Carrasco and her husband.
“She told me no, it was okay, we’re going to get a divorce,” Burney said.
Carrasco seemed calm. But the next day, Burney got no response to her repeated messages.
“My phone was very quiet,” Burney said. “So I hadn’t heard from her and I hadn’t heard from him.”
Around 4 p.m., she reached Carrasco’s husband.
“He said, yeah we got into a big fight last night and she left,” Burney said.
Carrasco’s husband reportedly said she had left their San Antonio home on foot and he passed her a short time later when he left for work, taking their youngest child with him but leaving their nine and 10-year-old children at home.
Burney said his calm answer was a red flag to her.
“For weeks, he had been contacting anybody who would listen. Then all of a sudden, Monday I get a hold of him and he’s calm and has no concern about where she’s at,” Burney said. “That doesn’t add up to me.”
Searching for Bianca Carrasco
She filed a missing person report with the San Antonio police. It says Carrasco’s husband told them she “had an affair and also gave back her wedding ring,” suggesting that’s why she left.
“He said that Bianca took off walking down the street and that he passed her,” Stinson said. “She’s not going to just leave the kids in bed by themselves and take off walking somewhere.”
Stinson began analyzing Carrasco and her husband’s phone records from that night, noting her last activity was at 8:08 p.m., when she arrived home.
“She sent out a text message. Then there’s no activity on either phone until 10:22 p.m. when he makes his first phone call,” Stinson said. “Her phone is turned off at 10:22 as well. And never turned back on.”
Project Absentis, a group consisting of former law enforcement members, is now posting about the case on TikTok and sending messages to Carrasco’s husband.
One video includes a message from the group stating they would love to give him a polygraph test to clear him since there has been so little progress in the case.
Carrasco’s family and friends hope the renewed focus on the case will bring answers, especially for her children.
“She didn’t just take off and never think about them and leave them,” Burney said. “She didn’t. And I want them to know that more than anything.”
NewsNation reached out to both the San Antonio police and Carrasco’s husband. Neither responded to requests for an interview.
Bianca Carrasco was last seen on May 1, 2016, in San Antonio, Texas. She was 29 when she disappeared, with long brown hair, brown eyes, weighing around 125 pounds at 5’1″.
Anyone with information on her disappearance should call the San Antonio Police Department at 210-207-7273.