Young mom’s disappearance could ‘absolutely’ be drug-related: stepmom

The young Tennessee mom who vanished in June had lost custody of her daughter just a few weeks before she was last seen – and relatives say her disappearance could “absolutely” be drug-related.

Layla Santenello, 21, had been struggling with addiction and family issues when she was last seen in Kingsport around June 26, her stepmother, Brittany Zeitler, told The Post Wednesday.

“Layla was spiraling down,” Zeitler said of the weeks before the mom disappeared.

Santanello had been addicted to fentanyl and heroin for the past several years, Zeitler added – noting that drugs could “absolutely” be related to the young mom’s vanishing.

“All of this revolves around drugs,” she insisted.

Two weeks before her last sighting, Santanello lost temporary custody of her two-year-old daughter to her mother, Jennifer Santanello, Zeitler told The Post.

The next family court appearance was set for June 28 – two days after Zeitler and Santanello’s father reported the young woman missing to police.

Santenello was last seen barefoot and looking disoriented at the Marble Slab Creamery in Kingsport’s East Stone Commons Shopping Center, initial reports said.

Now, however, the family believes these early claims may be unreliable, Zeitler told The Post.

Thanks to a private investigator, she explained, Santonello’s father and stepmother believe her last whereabouts may have been near the Americourt motel, where Santonello is believed to have stayed after couch-surfing with friends before she vanished.

In the days leading up to her disappearance, Santonello was in the process of separating from her boyfriend, Zeitler said.

“She was breaking away from her boyfriend. She probably at some point realized that she can have and do better,” the stepmom noted.

As part of the process, Santonello’s loved ones believe she may have grown close to another man.

“She didn’t have a ‘secret lover,’ I wouldn’t say that,” Zeitler said, referring to previous reports.

“She was seeking loving, tender care because she was running,” Zeitler said.

The new man – who Santonello’s family has not named – even let Santonello stay with him for a few nights before she vanished.

As the family tries to piece together what may have happened to Santonello, they are now going through months of old footage from a business near the Americourt in the hopes that the young woman will show up on-screen.

“I know there is something wrong, along with her father, he truly believes that something is wrong,” Zeitler lamented.

“[Layla] would have called, she would have reached out. She was very dependable on her family. Not hearing from her at all, in five months [is not normal],” she added.

Zeitler and Santonello’s father are currently at odds with Santonello’s mother, who has said she believes her daughter may have been the victim of a serial killer or trafficking.

“Even if somebody had her, or if this is a trafficking matter, I truly believe that she still would have been spotted,” Zeitler told The Post.

“We are going with what the [Tennessee Bureau of Investigation] has, and that is [she was seen] June 26 near the Americourt,” she claimed.

Five months after Santonello was last seen, her loved ones are exhausted – but vowed they would not stop until they get answers.

“Did we think we would be in this very position right now, five months later? Absolutely not,” Zeitler said.

“We need to get the closure that we need not just for ourselves but for her daughter,” she added.

“Saying ‘I don’t know what happened to your mom’ is not feasible.”

Local authorities still “don’t know the circumstances” of Santonello’s disappearance and “are open to all possibilities,” the Kingsport Police Department told The Post in a statement.

Zeitler and other members of Santonello’s family have launched a GoFundMe, “Layla’s Search & Rescue Mission” to raise money for the private search.