Family hunt for California woman missing in Panama

PANAMA CITY – A California family has launched a search for a woman who went missing in a popular seaside vacation area in Panama along with her dog.

Yvonne Baldelli, 42, of Laguna Niguel, hasn’t been heard from since the end of November in Panama’s province of Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean coast, her family said Wednesday.

Panamanian authorities are offering a $3,000 reward for information. U.S. officials are helping with the search, but haven’t responded to a request for comment.

Baldelli travelled to Panama with her boyfriend in September, officials and her family said. She was last seen in a hotel Nov. 26 and her family informed authorities she was missing about two months later. Her sister, Michelle Faust, said Baldelli was often out of touch.

Faust said the boyfriend returned to the U.S. in December and family members had spoken with him, but she didn’t offer details.