A missing Tennessee woman was spotted over the Memorial Day Weekend in California after vanishing while on a road trip with her boyfriend and dog.
Nikki Alcaraz, 33, had been traveling in her black 2013 Jeep Wrangler with Steven Tyler Stratton, 33, when both vanished after an altercation in Moriarty, New Mexico, on May 6.
Police in Moriarty and Cheatham County Sheriff’s office launched a missing person appeal saying Alcaraz is in ‘danger’ because of a ‘history of domestic assault’- though there is no evidence that either is dead.
Cheatham DA Ray Crouch is reportedly seeking a nationwide extradition order for Stratton on an unrelated arrest warrant.
His office also released an image of Alcaraz on Saturday, May 27, trying to sell her phone at an ecoATM in Redding, California, according to WKRN.
Nikki Alcaraz was seen on a surveillance camera on Saturday, May 27, trying to sell her phone at an ecoATM in Redding, California
![Nikki Alcaraz, 33, had been traveling in her black 2013 Jeep Wrangler with Steven Tyler Stratton, 33, when both vanished after an altercation in Moriarty, New Mexico, on May 6](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/30/13/71538153-12139413-Tennessee_couple_Tyler_Stratton_and_Nikki_Alcaraz_are_both_missi-a-2_1685450231908.jpg)
Nikki Alcaraz, 33, had been traveling in her black 2013 Jeep Wrangler with Steven Tyler Stratton, 33, when both vanished after an altercation in Moriarty, New Mexico, on May 6
No other information has been released regarding her disappearance, but her family told GMA that they are ‘scared after not hearing from her for three weeks’.
Alcaraz, Stratton and their dog set out on a road trip from Nashville to Southern California and were in an altercation in New Mexico on May 4.
![Police released pictures of Alcaraz with a black eye on May 4 after an altercation](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/30/13/71538155-12139413-Alcaraz_seen_here_with_a_black_eye_after_a_May_4_altercation_wit-a-9_1685450393474.jpg)
Police released pictures of Alcaraz with a black eye on May 4 after an altercation
A police report filed by Torrance County Sheriff’s Department shows the mother-of-two with a black eye after witnesses said they saw Stratton punch her in the face.
The report states that Stratton alleged that he had also been hit in the altercation, but neither one pressed charges.
Daily Mail.com has contacted Torrance County Sheriff’s Department, Moriarty Police Department, Redding Police Department and Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office for a comment.
DA Ray Crouch did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Her brother Josh Alcaraz told Fox 10 that a passing driver stepped in to help his sister after witnessing the alleged assault.
He said: ‘He beat her up pretty badly. A truck driver had to pull him off of her, call the police, the police picked him up, took him a couple exits down and dropped him off.’
![The pair departed Tennessee in early May in this black Jeep, which has yet to be located. The car belongs to Alcaraz, and was last located by a license plate reader in Arizona on May 8](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/30/13/71538161-12139413-The_pair_departed_Tennessee_in_early_May_in_this_black_Jeep_whic-a-4_1685450258901.jpg)
The pair departed Tennessee in early May in this black Jeep, which has yet to be located. The car belongs to Alcaraz, and was last located by a license plate reader in Arizona on May 8
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/30/14/71566475-12139413-image-a-17_1685452700593.jpg)
![Despite the grim parallels with the case of Gabby Petito, Toni is hopeful her sister is still alive](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/30/13/71538149-12139413-As_officials_search_for_leads_as_to_the_location_of_the_disappea-a-7_1685450384294.jpg)
Despite the grim parallels with the case of Gabby Petito, Toni is hopeful her sister is still alive
Both were then given rides, with Nikki dropped off in Moriarty, where she called her sister Toni, and a friend met her to stay the night in a motel.
But the following day, Alcaraz insisted that she needed to find Stratton, who has not been seen since the violent incident.
His family have not filed a missing persons report for him, but he is mentioned in the official appeals to find Alcaraz.
Alcaraz left the Super 8 motel in Moriarty, a town about 40 miles east of Albuquerque, around 7am on May 6 and has not been seen since.
Her jeep was located by a license plate reader near Flagstaff, Arizona, on May 8, with Alcaraz messaging her sister to say she was planning to complete her trip.
She did not say if she was alone or had re-joined Stratton with her dog. Her family has not heard from her since.
Speaking to WKRN, Toni said: ‘I am scared something happened to them, whether they got in another fight or if they crashed her Jeep somewhere.
‘I talk to her almost every day, so I am scared something happened to them. It’s a trip she’s done hundreds of times.’
Authorities are still searching for leads to find Alcaraz and Stratton, with the missing mom’s family members urging witnesses to come forward.
Federal officials have yet to involve themselves in the search, which has so far failed to turn up any leads.
Stratton is wanted for failure to appear on a probation violation stemming over an unrelated theft charge.
![Speaking to WKRN, Toni said: 'I am scared something happened to them, whether they got in another fight or if they crashed her Jeep somewhere'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/30/13/71538311-12139413-Speaking_to_Pix11_News_on_Sunday_Alcaraz_s_sister_Toni_Alcaraz_r-a-6_1685450360310.jpg)
Speaking to WKRN, Toni said: ‘I am scared something happened to them, whether they got in another fight or if they crashed her Jeep somewhere’
![Despite the grim precursor provided by the headline-case surrounding Petito, who was found dead two months after her fight with Laundrie, Toni said she is hopeful her sister is still alive](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/30/13/65776815-12139413-Despite_the_grim_precursor_provided_by_the_headline_case_surroun-a-5_1685450354592.jpg)
Despite the grim precursor provided by the headline-case surrounding Petito, who was found dead two months after her fight with Laundrie, Toni said she is hopeful her sister is still alive
Officials have yet to produce any evidence that indicates Alcaraz is dead – with her case currently being treated like that of a missing person.
Despite the grim parallels with the case of Gabby Petito, Toni is hopeful her sister is still alive.
‘I don’t think she is dead out there somewhere, but it’s all a possibility at this point, and I am really scared of that, but I’m praying that’s not the case,’ she said.
Of the similarities to the Petito case, she further remarked: ‘All the stories like that that seem to happen and seem to happen more often make it more terrifying.’
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