'I'm scared to death': Family, friends of missing Tacoma woman desperate to find her

TACOMA -- Family and friends of 25-year-old Danielle McGowan are desperate for answers after she disappeared without a trace nearly a week ago.

Tacoma police are also looking for clues in Danielle’s disappearance.

Danielle’s family hasn’t heard from her since early Saturday morning and they’ve become worried that something bad has happened.



Danielle was last seen at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, when she was talking to a friend in the area of her home in north Tacoma, police said. She then drove away in her car toward downtown Tacoma.

She "has not been in touch with family or friends, which her family said is very unusual," police said in a news release. "Her family is concerned that she may be in some type of danger."

Danielle's older sister, Sharon Shadwell, works the makeshift command post from her dining room and the tips keep rolling in.

“I’m scared to death,” she said Thursday. “But I feel like people are working hard, and it’s not over until it’s over.”

Danielle said a male friend received a discomforting phone call early Saturday morning.

“He said that someone picked up the phone, he heard the sound of breathing and then there was a hang-up,” said Shadwell.

“She has her iPad, so even if she couldn’t use her phone, we know she’d use that as a means to talk to somebody,” said family friend Paige Downey.

Shadwell said detectives are trying to get a warrant to ping her sister’s cellphone.

Tacoma police said Danielle made plans to meet someone in downtown Tacoma, but they don’t yet have any evidence to suggest she is in danger.

“Maybe she did experience something and needs help. We don’t know because no one has heard from her,” said Tacoma police officer Loretta Cool.

From Lakewood to Puyallup, Shadwell said friends posted fliers all over the place searching for any tips that lead to the whereabouts of Danielle.

For now they’re trying to stay positive, and hoping Danielle simply walks through the door.

“She always stays in touch,” said Shadwell. “We feel like there’s good reason to believe that there’s something wrong here.”

Danielle was last seen driving her 2015 dark gray, four-door Mazda 6 sedan with tinted windows and a Washington license plate of ASH9995. Anyone who spots the car or Danielle is urged to call 911.

She is described as 5-foot-10, about 145 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.