The case of a woman from Delaware County who went missing nearly a decade ago has seen new light as federal officials probed a Chester County home in connection with the investigation earlier this week.
Amanda DeGuio was 24 years old when she was last seen in 2014. She had just returned from a trip to Florida and left her home the same day without her phone, credit cards or packed clothes, police said.
But on Wednesday, the FBI confirmed it searched a large, wooded property on Red Pump Road in Nottingham, Chester County, in connection with DeGuio’s case.
It’s not clear whether federal agents found anything, but the family’s private investigator, Kevin Ryan, says it’s a big step in finding the missing woman.
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Months after DeGuio went missing, Upper Darby police – which has been investigating the case since she first disappeared – said they suspect foul play in her disappearance.
Amanda's history of drug abuse delayed the filing of the missing person's report as her family also suspected she may have been on a binge. The woman has gone missing for a day or two in the past, but she would always contact her relatives by phone, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood previously told NBC10.
"We know she is in a bad way, in a bad place," her mother Joanne DeGuio said between tears, referring to her daughter's known drug abuse issues. "If she is out there, she needs to know it is safe to come home."
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"It is so important we have some kind of closure and answers for her children," she said.
The worst-case scenario is on the minds of the relatives of Amanda, a prescription drug and heroin user who has a history of prostitution.
"If she is not alive, I need to bring her home," Joanne said. "I need to at least have an answer for her children and our family."
The possibility that she is "being held captive in some type of human trafficking process" has been considered, said Chitwood, who added that Homeland Security has weighed in on the case.
DeGuio also used several aliases including Stacy, Gianna and Adrianna, he said.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to contact the Upper Darby Police Department.
