A woman who vanished during a cross-country road trip more than a year ago has been found alive in Mexico, authorities confirmed.
Ganna Kovrizhynkh, 38, was located in the Mexican state of Sinaloa after investigators made contact with her on August 7, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office. The Florida resident had last communicated with her family on July 5, and was formally reported missing seven days later when her Jeep Grand Cherokee and camper trailer were discovered abandoned near Potrero, California, roughly 15 miles from the Mexican border.
Sgt. Jacob Klepach of the SDSO’s missing persons and cold case team said in a statement that investigators had pursued every available lead during the extensive search. “The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office conducted an extensive investigation, exhausting all leads,” he said. “Sheriff’s investigators believed Kovrizhnykh likely had voluntarily crossed into Mexico.”
Klepach had previously told KNSD that detectives were uncertain about Kovrizhynkh’s ultimate destination. “We believe she was just kind of touring the country and she left her vehicle in Potrero and never came back to her vehicle,” he said. “We don’t really have any belief one way or another at this point if there is foul play involved or if she just strictly voluntarily left.”
The case took an unsettling turn when authorities revealed that Kovrizhynkh’s mother had received a photograph of a letter on the day of her daughter’s last known contact. “On 07/05/2025, Kovrizhnykh’s mother received a photograph of a letter along with GPS coordinates from Potrero, California,” authorities explained in their statement. “The letter essentially provided instruction to give her personal assets to her mother.”
Kovrizhynkh, who also goes by the alias Angel Volnaya, maintained an online presence that offered fragmented glimpses into her final days. An Instagram account under the name Angel Volnaya remains active with a single post from 2023, though she had been tagged in other users’ photos as recently as July 2025. One such tag came from the Thrive Art District Art Walk event, where organizers posted: “Dear Artists, Thank you for showcasing your incredible talent at the Thrive Art District Art Walk event. Your creativity and dedication brought our community together and made the event truly memorable.”
Her TikTok account provided perhaps the most direct window into her state of mind. In her final video, posted on July 4, Kovrizhynkh delivered an unusual message to her followers. “Don’t check for them, don’t look for them,” she said, referring to extraterrestrial beings. “aliens are not your friend.”
Since news of her disappearance spread, that TikTok post has accumulated hundreds of comments from concerned strangers. “I hope that you’re ok,” one user wrote. Another added: “God i pray she is ok.”
In the viral moment that first drew national attention to the case, internet sleuths and true-crime followers became fixated on the eerie circumstances: a woman sending her mother instructions to claim her assets, abandoning her vehicle within walking distance of the border, and posting cryptic warnings about aliens just before vanishing. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office officially entered the case into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System on August 27, and Crime Stoppers offered up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to her location. For months, speculation ran rampant online about whether Kovrizhynkh had met with foul play, suffered a mental health crisis, or deliberately started a new life south of the border.
Authorities have not disclosed any details about why Kovrizhynkh traveled to Mexico or what circumstances led to her year-long absence, and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office has indicated that no further information will be released at this time.