SAN ANTONIO – The mother of a 4-year-old boy has been missing for more than three months. Today, the missing woman’s mother and the little boy’s grandmother believe she may have been killed.

Kate Vara’s mother, Valerie Mendoza, says her daughter was last seen on August 6. The family, including 4-year-old James, celebrated Vara’s 27th birthday without her on September 8.

“(James) said, ‘Where’s mom?’ Because we’re having a birthday party for mom, and we’re doing something for mom, and mom’s not here,” Mendoza said,

“(James) said to me himself, ‘Mommy’s missing,’ and I said, ‘Yes baby, mommy’s missing,’ and he said, ‘Where’s mommy,’ and I said, ‘I don’t know where mom is,’ but we’re going to find her,” Mendoza said.

According to Mendoza, Vara had a substance abuse problem but was going to a clinic on San Antonio’s west side for treatment. August 6 was the day of one of his appointments.

“She arrived for her appointment. There was camera footage of her going to her appointment and leaving, and after that, no one has seen her since,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza says things became confusing in the days after Vara disappeared. One of Vara’s friends said he dropped her off at a random house on the West Side near her home on August 9 around 1 a.m., but Vara left her phone in her car.

“I’m like, well, why didn’t you give it back? I even asked him what she was wearing when he dropped her off, and he couldn’t even answer me. He was going around in circles and saying something else, and now no one can find him,” Mendoza said.

San Antonio has not named the man as a possible suspect. SAPD says there have been no updates in the case. However, Mendoza informed us that SAPD’s homicide unit is now assisting the department’s missing persons unit in Vara’s case.

“Do you think she’s still out there?” asked KSAT reporter John Paul Barajas.

“I feel like she’s gone, with what people in Kate’s neighborhood are saying, I feel like she’s gone, but it doesn’t matter, I want her to come home” , Mendoza said.

Mendoza said residents in the West Side neighborhood where Kate lives began speculating. For now, Mendoza has been raising money for a $3,000 reward, hoping someone will come forward. She tries to stay strong for James.

“It’s so hard because I never thought this would be our life,” Mendoza said. “For the people responsible, I will never stop looking, I will not, I will keep looking, and then when I find her, I will get justice for her,” Mendoza said.