Search continues for missing Maricopa couple

Pinal County sheriff's deputies and locals are searching for a Maricopa couple who left for work on Monday morning but never arrived.

Investigators found the 2008 Honda Accord belonging to Michael and Tina Careccia at about 10 p.m. Monday near Ralston and Papago roads, but detectives said there was no sign of where the couple went from there.

Sheriff's deputies were alerted to the Careccias' disappearance after Michael's son called authorities at about 7:15 p.m. Monday, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The caller said the couple left their home for work at about 5 a.m. Monday but didn't make any of their destinations.

Investigators said Michael is a 44-year-old White man with black hair and brown eyes, who is 5-feet 10- inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds. Tina is a 42-year-old White woman with blonde hair and brown eyes who is 5-feet 8-inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds.

Investigators asked anyone with information about the couple's whereabouts to contact sheriff's detectives at 520-866-5111.

Meanwhile, four area residents helped organize a grassroots search-party on Tuesday in hopes of finding the couple. The search party's Facebook page, Help us find Tina and Mike, had nearly 1,500 likes by Tuesday night.

Interested volunteers were asked to meet at Raceway Bar and Grill, which served as a kind command post, and were sent out from there. One organizer said the restaurant meetup helped search leaders keep track of everyone involved.

More than 100 people on dirt bikes, ATVs and in four-wheel drives searched near Ralston Wash and covered about a 20-mile area between Interstate 8 and State Route 238.

The search ended at about 10 p.m. Tuesday and was expected to resume at 5 a.m. Wednesday at Raceway Bar and Grill, 49237 W. Papago Road, Maricopa.