Arizona

Friends, Family Grieve Loss of Missing Woman Believed to Have Been Killed by Ex-Husband

Julia Jacobson and her dog Boogie's remains have still not been found

A U.S. Army veteran reported missing for weeks confided in a friend about an ex-husband's behavior, the friend told NBC 7 Tuesday. 

Julia Jacobson and her dog Boogie's have not been seen for more than 40 days. Her ex-husband has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Jacobson was seen on surveillance video on Sept. 2, at the corporate offices of 7-Eleven on Aero Drive in Kearny Mesa, and again in Ontario, California.

Within days, her family knew something was seriously wrong.

Jacobson had lost her mother about six months ago and was diligent about calling her father every day, friends said.

Shortly after she was last seen on surveillance video, those calls suddenly stopped.

"She would come in, she would talk to me.  It was like a ray of sunshine," said Jacobson’s friend, Nicole. Nicole did not want to disclose her last name to the public for security reasons.

Nicole would pet-sit for Jacobson's dog, Boogie. 

Nicole told NBC 7 she remembered a conversation the two had just a few weeks before Jacobson disappeared.

Jacobson shared that her ex-husband had been harassing her and wouldn't leave her alone.

"I was extremely concerned.  Extremely concerned. I knew she didn't go missing on her own," said Nicole.

Evidence found in Jacobson’s car in North Park led detectives to believe she may have been killed.

The case was handled by both San Diego Police Department and Ontario Police Department, two of the last places Jacobson was seen alive.

Dalen Ware was arrested Friday at his home in Arizona.

For 40 days, her family searched Jacobson's neighborhood and held candlelight vigils.

"The important thing now is to bring her home so her family can bury her properly," Nicole said.

"She's a beautiful, beautiful person. I'm lucky to have known her for the time I did," she said.

Anyone with information regarding the incident can call the Ontario Police Department at (909) 986-6711, Detective Ruben Espinoza at (909) 395-2894 or Detective Brant Devey at (909) 395-2715.

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