MCALESTER, Okla. -- Search teams found another clue that could help them in solving the disappearance of a McAlester woman.
This week, a lunch bag with "McAlester Regional Hospital" and its logo were found near Lake Eufaula.
Nearby is where Holly Cantrell's purse was found months ago.
Cantrell went missing in January of 2017. She worked at McAlester Regional Hospital as a nurse. The mother left work on her lunch break and got in the car with someone. That person told police they were headed to Braum's, but McAlester Police said she never made it inside the restaurant. The driver of the car told police that area was where he last saw her.
"I go to bed at night looking outside and wondering what, who, where," Sherrill Wilkins, Cantrell's aunt said.
The lunchbox is one more thing that could lead enforcement and Cantrell's family members to answers.
"Now we’re going, 'Who would do this to her?' 'Who would take her out and just throw her out there like she was garbage?'" Wilkins asked. "She’s not garbage. She was our Holly."
Bones were found weeks ago a few miles from where the lunchbox was found. Investigators have not gotten a positive identity on them yet and it could take a year.
"If they’re not Holly, we’re back to square one," Wilkins said. "Whose are they? If they’re not Holly’s, where is she? In our minds, we know it’s her. In our heart, we know it’s her."
If they find out it is Cantrell, McAlester Police believe it will help their case.
"All those things are.. I hate to say optimistic, but as far as closing a case, they are for us, especially a case that is this old," Detective Brant Gamble with McAlester PD said.
Detective Gamble said they are still getting new tips weekly on her disappearance.
"We are currently actually following some leads that don’t necessarily involve the folks who have been involved up to this point," Detective Gamble said.
Cantrells' family wants definitive answers, like anyone in their position would. They said they will never rest, because there is a piece missing from their puzzle and it is Cantrell.
"What could she have done that was so bad in someone’s mind that would want her gone?" Wilkins asked. "What has anybody got to gain? That’s the way we look at it. Who has the most to gain from her being gone and we have our suspicions, but we don’t know."
Wilkins said she is confident someone knows something and encourages them to contact police even if it is anonymously.
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