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Kira Trevino’s friend, Michelle Stecker, said Jeffery Trevino called her around 5 p.m. Saturday about Kira’s disappearance and asked her to call his wife.

Stecker left her best friend a message: “You got me a little worried. Give me a call.”

Then she waited. But no one heard from Kira Trevino on Saturday. About 11 a.m. Sunday, Jeffery Trevino made the first call to his wife’s family to notify them of her disappearance, which struck them as unusual because the family is so close.

Keri Anne Steger said she spoke with Jeffery Trevino twice Sunday and then called St. Paul police.

Police said a roommate who lived with the couple is cooperating with the investigation.

Roughly half of those slain by current or former intimate partners are killed while trying to leave them, said Cottage Grove Police Sgt. Randy McAlister. The most dangerous times for those leaving are in the three months preceding, as they prepare to leave, and in the year after, he said.

“That’s one of the reasons if we have a really high-risk relationship, we don’t want the victims to announce that they’re leaving,” he said. “It should be a surprise.”

Carol Arthur, executive director of the Domestic Abuse Project, said there’s a 70 percent greater chance of violence once a victim says she or he is leaving. “It’s clear when the victim is leaving, when the victim says, ‘I’ve had enough,’ the abuser tries to get back control,” she said, stressing the need for safety planning.

A vigil for Kira Trevino will be held at 5 p.m. Friday at Bethany Baptist Church in Weston, Wis.

Kevin Duchschere and the Associated Press contributed to this report. cxiong@startribune.com • 612-270-4708 jpowell@startribune.com • 651-925-5038