Missing Lomita woman feared dead

LOMITA, Calif. (KABC) -- Joe Cacace may be in the motorcycle business, but his first passion these days is finding a missing friend.

Plastered on the façade window of his Lomita store is a missing person poster of Dawn Viens.

"We need to find where Dawn is," Cacace said. "I really don't believe she's alive."

Viens disappeared in October 2009. She worked with her husband, David Viens, at his restaurant locates just around the corner from Cacace's shop. Cacace said she would come in almost every day to play with his dog.

When her visits suddenly stopped, her long-time group of friends realized something was wrong.

"My suspicion is that Dawn is no longer alive and that David knows something about that," said Viens' friend, Karen Patterson.

Viens friends said her husband didn't report her missing so they had to about three weeks after she vanished.

His restaurant's doors were closed Wednesday and a worker declined to comment.

"I talked to David and he said that he fired her," Cacace said. "He said he was tired of her drinking on the job. And I wonder how he fired his wife.I don't understand how you fire your wife."

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has assigned the case to homicide detectives

"It's a huge hurt and a big betrayal to think that somebody could really never look for her," Patterson said. "To not even put up a missing person poster in his own restaurant."

Get more Los Angeles News »

homicide investigation, missing person, los angeles news, rob hayes

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•