Police find missing man's car

FEDERAL WAY -- Police located a car Monday morning belonging to a missing Sea-Tac man whose disappearance had been classified as suspicious by sheriff's officials.

Sheriff spokesman John Urquhart said Nicholas Francisco's car was spotted by a resident outside the Heritage Condos on South 340th Street at about 10:20 a.m.

The person called police after recognizing the car from media reports about the missing man, Urquhart said.

"We went out there, confirmed that it is the same car he was last known to be driving and we impounded it," Urquhart said. "We'll be checking it for any trace evidence."

There was no sign of Francisco, and Urquahart said detectives would be working to try to determine how Francisco's car ended up outside the condo building.

"We still don't know if there's any foul play involved. We certainly want to look inside that car and see if there's any evidence of any kind that might indicate what happened to Nicholas."

Francisco was last heard from on Wednesday on his way home from work, according to the his family, and a $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his discovery.

"We just need him to come home," said Christine Francisco, wife of Nicholas Francisco, who disappeared after leaving his Queen Anne office.

"I am begging everybody, begging everybody to please, please help me find my husband because I cannot live my life without him," she said.

Just before he vanished, Nicholas called his wife and promised his 4-year-old daughter, Zea, he'd make Valentine's Day cookies with her, but never showed.

The Franciscos also have a son, Noah, age 2 1/2, and Christine is pregnant with their third child, due in early October.

"If you can't find him, these kids won't have a daddy then," Christine said in an interview, breaking into tears. "This unborn baby won't have a daddy."

Francisco, 28, drove off from his work in his red 1992 Toyota Paseo hatchback with license plate number 601RHX and headed south toward the Sea-Tac area. He has not been seen since.

In their last phone conversation, from Nicholas' work phone, he told his wife that he was "signing off on something," then planned to head home after running an errand at Costco for her.

"He told me he loved me," she said.

Francisco's co-workers on Friday combed the streets around Francisco's work and retraced his route home, hoping to find some sign of the missing man.

"Literally there is no place to search," said King County sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart. "What we have to do is our investigative work and try to track him either through cell phone or bank records."

"It's not normal for him to make stops, have hangouts or go visit anyone else," said one co-worker. "He's a man who comes home after work."

Christine Francisco said there has been no activity in Nicholas' e-mail or bank account since he vanished.

Anyone with information about Francisco's whereabouts is asked to call police.