SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A 14-year-old girl from Ogden, Utah, went missing in Mexico while visiting family nearly two weeks ago, and now the FBI and her family are asking for help.
Elizabeth “Ely” Gonzalez was visiting her grandmother in Mexico City when investigators believe she was manipulated by an adult into getting in a taxi on June 30. She has not been seen since.
FBI Special Agent Steven Hymas said they are working “day and night” with their partners in Mexico City to locate her. Because they do not have authority to investigate in Mexico, he said they have to “rely on their partners.”
“We do have great partnerships, and we do trust that they are working just as hard as we are to find her,” Hymas said.
Gonzalez’s mother, Alma Soreque, said she had spoken to her daughter that morning about how she slept and the breakfast her grandmother was preparing. Later that day, she received a call from her family saying Gonzalez had walked to a nearby “tienda” — a small store — for a soda and never returned home.
Soreque said she immediately contacted authorities who began the investigation. They are asking for the community’s help, especially anyone who may have known Gonzalez, to contact the FBI if they have any information.
The FBI said in these cases it’s not unusual for someone to contact loved ones or friends or for the missing person to reach out. Soreque said she is grateful for those who are spreading the word of her missing daughter.
Gonzalez just finished 7th grade at Roy Junior High. Her mother described her as talented, smart, compassionate and “a really good girl.” Soreque said her disappearance is “one of the worst nightmares.”
“Horrible, it is the worst thing that a mom can hear,” she said through tears.
Soreque said Gonzalez was visiting family this summer so she could experience more of her culture and roots. She said this was not the first time Gonzalez had visited Mexico City, and that there had never been a problem in the past.
Soreque is now asking the community to spread the word of her disappearance in hopes that it will lead to finding her daughter.
“Elizabeth if you see this video interview, you need to know that we love you, we are having a hard time not knowing about you,” Soreque said. “I want you to know I love you and I won’t stop looking for you.”