The family of Maria Cecilia Gaminde continue to await news of her after she was reported missing. Relatives of the Filipina based in Debary, Florida, last heard from her in January.

Timothy Sumegang said his sister and her husband moved to the U.S. in 2007 in search of better opportunities. They have three children.

An entry on Gaminde in the U.S. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System website indicated she was 44 years old at the time she went missing.

"She (Gaminde) sent us a picture with her children," Sumegang recalled. "That was on Jan. 5, I think. That was the last time we talked."

Although his last contact with his sister was in January, he was only able to file a missing person report last July, thanks to the assistance of relatives in the U.S. and Canada.

Sumegang added that the delay in filing the report was due to the Volusia County administration’s claim that it had been receiving a high volume of prank calls.

"Her husband said she might have fled," said Sumegang. "He didn't do anything so we had to report that she was missing."

"Our suspicion further grew in May," said Asha Vallador, Sumegang's girlfriend. "We felt that something was wrong because when we messaged her in Bolinao language, she couldn’t respond to it."

Gaminde originally hailed from Pangasinan in the northern Philippines.

The Filipina was previously a public school teacher at University High School in Orange City, Florida.

Sumegang is hopeful that he will be able to reach out to his sister soon. "We have no other goal but to ensure her safety," he said.

Search efforts by authorities continue with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office involved in the operations.

The detective handling the case declined to give details to anyone other than the family at this moment for privacy purposes.

But Vallador has a message for the sheriff handling Gaminde’s case.

"[Please] look into this case," she said. "We just need physical confirmation in person that she is okay or even a video, and we will be satisfied."

ABS-CBN News North America bureau is trying to contact Gaminde's husband, but he has yet to respond.