DENVER (KDVR) — A childhood friend of Yana Rose says it was a combination of family, friends and total strangers — and not her husband — who alerted police in Spain that she was missing.

Rose, who lived in Denver, traveled to Europe with her husband only to be found dead in January. A childhood friend, Tatiana Maltseva, spoke exclusively with FOX31 about her friend’s mysterious death.

Maltseva said since age 7, she knew Rose, and the two never lost touch.

“Tatiana and Yana kept contact all the time throughout their journey,” Maltseva said through Julia Ioffe, a Russian translator.

The two were in contact until Rose was last heard from by her mother on Christmas day, Dec. 25. Almost two weeks later, Maltseva said, Rose’s mother reached out to her.

“On January 6th is when Yana’s mom contacted Tatiana and said that something is very, very wrong,” Maltseva said through the translator.

Maltseva said since she was in nearby France, she would file a report with local police in Spain.

“The only people that are allowed to do a police report are either the husband or the mother,” Maltseva said through the translator. Rose’s husband hadn’t been in touch with police, according to Maltseva.

“They went through Facebook and they contacted all the Russian speaking active groups,” Maltseva said.

Total strangers banded together in Spain, Maltseva said, using social media to spread the word about her childhood friend’s disappearance.

Maltseva said they had to take a few steps back before they could take any forward. Rose’s mother in Russia would have to let her local authorities know about the case.

“Then the Russian police would contact the Valencia police and only then could they do something about the situation,” Maltseva said.

Eventually, police would get involved, but Rose was found dead in Spain, on Jan. 21.

FOX31 has made contact with police in Spain and the FBI in the states about this case and will share more information as soon as it’s available.