Missing woman’s mother says she’s getting fake ransom calls

SAN DIEGO (NewsNation Now) — The mother of a missing 20-year-old Indiana woman last seen in San Diego said she has been receiving fake ransom calls.

Cheryl Walker, Lateche Norris’ mother, has been searching all over the San Diego area to find her daughter. Norris went to California to see her boyfriend, whom she had met just months earlier.

Walker said Norris came to California to “save” her boyfriend.

“She basically boarded a plane to come out here and save her boyfriend — who was supposed to come out here and go to rehab. He has an addiction issue. She doesn’t,” Walker said.

Adding to her anxiety over her missing daughter, Walker said she has been receiving ransom calls on her personal cellphone that she believes are fake.

“Most of them come in the form of texts,” she said. They’ll demand $7,000, $10,000 $2,000 … different amounts. You can kind of tell the way it’s worded that it’s not legitimate.”

Walker said she thinks she’s received at least five ransom calls. She said authorities warned her about putting her personal cellphone number out to the public.

“The detective warned us not to do that. Because … there are people out there that will try to take advantage of you and they know you’re vulnerable,” Walker said.

Anyone with information about Lateche Norris is asked to call the San Diego Police Department at 619-531-2446. The reference case number: 21-501043.