🚨 BREAKTHROUGH IN THE SEARCH FOR SALLY CONTARINO — A CRUCIAL “TRACE” HAS NOW BEEN FOUND AS HER FAMILY SPEAKS OUT TO SHUT DOWN DISTRESSING RUMOURS…
Sniffer dogs have found the trail of an Australian woman missing in the United States, the Daily Mail can exclusively confirm.
Sally Grace Contarino, 26, from Melbourne, vanished from Las Vegas on the afternoon of June 20 – the day she last made contact with her family – with police holding grave fears for her safety.
She was last seen on CCTV at a supermarket in the north-west of Sin City at 1pm.
Police said she was intending to hike up Mt Charleston, despite the 40°C heat and despite being due to fly out of Los Angeles to Melbourne later that night.
She had purchased a Greyhound bus ticket from Las Vegas to LA, but it was never scanned.
Sally’s mother Lucy confirmed to the Daily Mail on Thursday morning that she has been advised by a search and rescue team that sniffer dogs had traced Sally’s scent at Mt Charleston, which has several hiking trails and reaches a 3,632m elevation.
Lucy said she did not want to speculate on what might have happened to her daughter, but suggested that it was ‘obvious’.
The Mail can also confirm that police were initially investigating the possibility of human trafficking, but that this has been all but discounted now that sniffer dogs are on her trail in the mountains.
Sniffer dogs have found a trace of missing Australian woman Sally Contarino
The 26-year-old Australian woman was seen on CCTV at 1pm on June 20 before vanishing
Searchers are combing the rugged landscape of Mount Charleston, Nevada
More than 150 volunteers in a grid-search formation have been combing the rugged region for the past several days, along with a helicopter.
Her sisters Lauren and Amy are also at the search site, having flown over from Australia.
Ms Contarino has visited Las Vegas four times since 2023, and it’s understood she has a local ex-boyfriend.
The man, who was interviewed by police in connection with her disappearance, has since been discounted as a person of interest.
Sally’s best friend, who did not want to be named, said she did not contact the ex on her most recent trip, but instead returned to Vegas because she was ‘obsessed’ with the desert landscape.
On the day she hiked Mt Charleston, temperatures soared to more than 40°C, though CCTV at the supermarket showed her dressed in a sweater.
She is an avid hiker but rarely dressed appropriately for the conditions, said the friend, who added that it was not abnormal for her to wear warm clothing in hot conditions.
‘She loves the heat. She would heat up her water before drinking it,’ he said.
Sally had checked out of Bungalows Hostel but left her luggage in storage
Mount Charleston features several hiking trails and fluctuating temperatures
Ms Contarino’s fixation on Nevada was well-known among her family and friends.
Her bedroom was decorated with Americana, and she was obsessed with the films Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Thelma & Louise, and Stand By Me.
She had late Hollywood star River Phoenix’s name tattooed on her inner forearm, and made a pilgrimage to the site where he died of a drug overdose outside the notorious West Hollywood club The Viper Room.
Ms Contarino’s friend has not yet given up hope that she is still alive, despite it being nearly two weeks since she vanished.
‘There is snow at the top of the mountain… and she bought water and protein bars before she went,’ he said.
The friend said his ‘initial concern’ was that she may have been trafficked – a well-known scourge in Las Vegas which largely affects women travelling solo – and that authorities had been pursuing that theory, but he was relieved to learn this was unlikely to be the case.
Since Ms Contarino disappeared, online commenters have baselessly fuelled speculation that she may have been affected by drugs, alcohol or even engaging in sex work.
Her mother and best friend both debunked the outrageous rumours, saying they were far from the truth and had been ‘distressing’ for the family.
Sally’s family rejected a report that said she was in ’emotional distress’
Las Vegas police, along with search and rescue, are desperately trying to find Sally
Las Vegas and its infamous casino strip are notorious for incidents of human trafficking. Police were initially investigating the possibility that Sally was trafficked, but that this has been all but discounted now that sniffer dogs are on her trail in the mountains
‘We are all reading what people are saying,’ said the friend.
Lucy also rejected reports, which stemmed from police, that her daughter was in ’emotional distress’.
‘We are furious [about that],’ she said. ‘She was having a good time. We were all speaking to her.’
Ms Contarino’s friend said she does experience ‘occasional medical episodes’ linked to an undiagnosed neurological condition that can trigger seizures when she is hungry, fatigued or sleep-deprived.
When asked why Sally would have gone for a hike at 1pm in Nevada despite needing to be at LAX by around 7pm – a journey that would have taken well over seven hours – her mum said, ‘She does it all the time. Trust me, Sally finds a way.’
‘She loves the desert, loves the animals… she’s always loved them,’ Lucy added.
Her friend also said: ‘She likes to push the limits and has actually missed flights before. So this was not out of character.’
Ms Contarino’s life in Melbourne was described as ‘normal’ and ‘middle class’.
On June 19, Sally enjoyed a post-hike dinner at Timbers Bar and Grill, near Summerlin
‘She had a casual job at Soda King with some of her school friends,’ said the friend, adding that she worked simply to supplement her free-spirited, travelling lifestyle.
‘She is easygoing, she’s not fussed about much and very artistic. She would be mortified to know all this [has become a news story].
‘She doesn’t care much about money. She travels using public transport.’
The friend confirmed that she was travelling alone, and had spoken to him as recently as June 19.
He confirmed she did not make contact with her Vegas-based former boyfriend, whom he was also friends with through Ms Contarino.
‘They’d split up. The distance was too much to handle,’ he said.
‘He was investigated, because he has to be, but he’s got nothing to do with it at all.’
Ms Contarino’s loved ones also lashed out at a content creator who drove up to Sally and approached her while she stood outside a 7-Eleven smoking a cigarette on June 17.
Content creator Damian used Meta glasses to film Sally as he approached her
Damian spoke to Daily Mail on Thursday, saying he approached her because she was ‘cute’
He filmed her using Meta glasses as he asked for her phone number, which she politely rejected by saying she had a boyfriend.
‘Oh, are you waiting for him?’ the man asked, before turning back toward his car and cutting the video.
The man, who goes by @epicdamianpov on Instagram and posts hundreds of videos of himself talking to women, uploaded the video to social media on June 29.
It has since gone viral due to Ms Contarino’s missing-person status. Her disappearance is not linked to the video in any way.
When asked about the footage, Sally’s mother swore with anger and then asked for her comment not to be published.
Lucy added that she had begged her daughter to stop smoking, as she was seen doing in the video.
Ms Contarino’s friend added, ‘If she knew she was being filmed [via Meta glasses] she would have lost it… Sally is feisty.’
‘When she first went to Vegas, she said there was a culture shock of men approaching her.’
The Daily Mail tracked down Damian on Thursday morning, and he spoke out for the first time about why he approached Ms Contarino.
Damian posts hundreds of videos of himself approaching women in Las Vegas
‘I approached her because I thought she looked cute,’ he said.
The Mail does not suggest that Damian, who supplied the video and its metadata to Las Vegas Police, is involved in Ms Contarino’s disappearance.
‘I emailed them [the police] and gave them all the details and they just replied, “Thanks”,’ Damian said.
He described how he happened upon Sally three days before her disappearance as a ‘surprise… a crazy coincidence’.
Damian said he now wishes his conversation with her had gone differently.
‘Maybe if I had known where she was headed next or maybe known if she was waiting on somebody like a friend or a relative, that would definitely help the police. But I’m hoping the police will use the gas station CCTV to see where she went after our interaction,’ he said.
Given her trace has been found at Mt Charleston, and she was seen on CCTV in the two days after Damian’s video was filmed at her Bungalows Hostel and Timbers Bar and Grill near Summerlin, along with the sighting on June 20 en route to Mt Charleston, Damian’s evidence is unlikely to be relevant.
He said he approached Sally while he was in the area picking up his car from the mechanic, and that after their conversation, he drove away.
Concerns for Sally’s welfare were raised after she did not return for her luggage, which she’d stored at Bungalows Hostel after checking out from her dormitory on the morning of June 20.
When asked if he held out hope for Sally still being alive, her friend said: ‘It fluctuates. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.’
Sally is described as 165cm tall, around 58kg, with brown hair and brown-green eyes.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15946475/australian-woman-sally-contarino-missing-las-vegas-mount-charleston.html
