Family, friends of missing Pierce County mom hold vigil, search nearly week after she vanished

GRAHAM, Wash. -- Family and friends of missing mom Nicole White say they are still hoping she's found safe even though it's been nearly a week since she vanished.

Family members and friends held a candlelight vigil for White, 28, of Orting, before going back out on a search for her.

White, a mother of two small boys, was at Jeepers bar in Spanaway Saturday night on a date with a man. That was the last time she was seen. Her car was later found abandoned and partially hidden near Graham with the keys still in the ignition.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department said they fear it might be a case of foul play.

Detectives say the man who was on a date with her is a person of interest in her disappearance, but he is not being called a suspect and he has not been arrested.

Kathy Simonson, the owner of Jeepers Bar in Spanaway, remembered seeing White in the establishment before she went missing.

“Nicole came with a gentleman, a gentleman that`s been in our bar many times,” Simonson said.

White and the man had been at her bar before, Simonson said, and on Saturday she said nothing seemed out of place.

“They had a couple of beers, they were not intoxicated," she said. "Upon leaving, my security guy shook the gentleman`s hand, gave Nicole a hug, told them to have a good evening and they left."

Simonson is turning over surveillance video from the bar and telling detectives everything she knows.

“I haven`t slept since it happened. I have children of my own. I can’t believe what the children are going through,” Simonson said of White's two small boys.

Detectives and family members have been searching for White since she was reported missing last Sunday.

“It’s heartbreaking, sad, sickening,” said her sister, Melissa Nieto.

But her family and friends said they're not giving up hope that she will be found safe.