A 34-year-old woman who left her job in the South Hill/Puyallup area three days ago has not been seen since she called 911 that same evening to report she'd been in a collision, then asked that the call be canceled. Reilley Holmes's car was later found abandoned on Interstate 5 near the Gravelly Lake Drive interchange in Lakewood, with her phone left inside. Deputies say no contact was ever made with her.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office is now asking the public for help finding Holmes, describing her case as a missing person report with special circumstances. According to the Pierce Co Sheriff, Holmes was last seen on September 3 leaving work in the South Hill/Puyallup area before calling 911 later that evening to report the crash. She is described as a white female, 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighing 197 pounds, with long red or brown hair and brown eyes.
MISSING PERSON WITH SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
— Pierce Co Sheriff (@PierceSheriff) September 6, 2026
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help locating Reilley, who has been reported missing with special circumstances.
If you have any information that may help locate Reilley, please call 911. pic.twitter.com/x7WINcdFHv
The distance between where Holmes was last seen and where her car turned up is not small. South Hill and Puyallup sit roughly 12 miles east of the Gravelly Lake Drive interchange, connected by State Route 512, a major arterial corridor that runs west into Lakewood before terminating near I-5, according to a City of Lakewood transportation document. That stretch of highway has drawn heavy investment in recent years — the Interstate 5 interchange at Gravelly Lake Drive just finished a multi-year, $240 million corridor and HOV lane expansion completed in August, per the Washington State Department of Transportation.
A Cancelled Call and No Contact
What separates this case from a routine missing-adult report is the sequence of events described by the sheriff's office: Holmes called 911, said she had been in a collision, then asked that the call be canceled before deputies could reach her. Nearby Gravelly Lake Drive SW is no quiet side street — it's classified as a principal arterial carrying more than 15,000 vehicles a day, with heavy congestion during peak commute hours near the I-5 interchange, according to data from West Pierce Fire & Rescue.
The sheriff's office has labeled Holmes's case as involving special circumstances, language that aligns with the state's criteria for an Endangered Missing Person Advisory. Under RCW 13.60.010, such an advisory can be triggered when someone disappears under unexplained, involuntary, or suspicious circumstances, or is believed to be in danger due to physical, health, or environmental factors, per state protocols outlined in a City of Vancouver policy manual. Once a case meets that threshold, RCW 13.60.020 requires local law enforcement to enter biographical details into statewide missing person databases within six hours of notification, according to the Washington State Legislature.
No Waiting Period, Sheriff's Office Says
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office maintains that missing person reports carry no mandatory 24-hour waiting period, urging anyone facing an emergency to call 911 immediately, or to reach the South Sound 911 non-emergency line at (253) 287-4455 for other concerns. That guidance dispels a common public misconception that families must wait a full day before reporting someone missing. Emergency and non-emergency dispatching for the sheriff's office and municipal departments across the county is centralized through South Sound 911.
Investigators can also draw on state-level resources if needed. The Washington State Patrol's Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit offers statewide poster distribution, integration with the national NCIC database, and investigative support for active missing adult cases, available upon request from the handling agency or family members.
Public Urged to Call 911, Not Social Media
The sheriff's office has cautioned that its social media accounts are not monitored around the clock, and it wants anyone with a possible sighting or tip about Holmes to call 911 directly rather than leaving comments online. That guidance came up in Hoodline's coverage of a missing South Hill man last month, when deputies renewed their search for a 26-year-old man with autism who had been missing for three weeks. That case, along with a January search for a missing 60-year-old in Puyallup, reflects a pattern of public appeals the sheriff's office has leaned on repeatedly this year in the same stretch of Pierce County.
Several key questions remain unanswered. It's not clear whether investigators found physical evidence of a collision on Holmes's abandoned vehicle or along the highway, nor whether traffic camera footage from WSDOT or nearby businesses captured her movements after she left work. What specifically led deputies to classify her disappearance under special circumstances has also not been detailed publicly. Anyone with information that could help locate Reilley Holmes is asked to call 911.
