By The FBI is asking the public for help in locating a 14-year-old Utah girl who went missing in Mexico.
Elizabeth “Ely” Gonzalez was visiting relatives in Mexico City when she disappeared on June 30, according to the FBI. The Ogden, Utah teen was last seen with her two young cousins, aged 6 and 4, when all three disappeared from the San Juan Tlilhuaca neighborhood of Azcapotzalco, a borough in Mexico City, according to Mexican Amber alerts issued for the girls.
The FBI believes Gonzalez has not returned to the U.S. and is still in Mexico.
FBI Special Agent Steven Hymas told local outlet KTVX that investigators are working “day and night” to locate Gonzalez. He noted that the agency does not have the authority to investigate in Mexico and must rely on its “great partnership” with Mexican authorities to bring her home.
Ely never returned from trip to convenience store, family says
Authorities told the outlet that they believe Gonzalez may have been manipulated by an adult to get into a taxi at the time of her disappearance. Her mother, Alma Soreque, told KTVX she spoke to her daughter the morning she went missing. Later that day, family members called to tell her Gonzalez had gone for a walk to a nearby convenience store and never returned.
Soreque’s Facebook is filled with pleas for her daughter, who she called in a translated post a “young woman full of talents and ready to help whoever needs it.” She, along with the FBI, have asked the public for any information about Gonzalez’s whereabouts.
USA TODAY reached out to the FBI and Soreque for comment.
Elizabeth Gonzalez was last seen wearing dark blue jeans, a black hoodie, and black and white Vans. She is about 5’1″ and 140 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office at (801) 579-1400. You may also contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
Mexican authorities can be contacted via the Attorney General’s Office of Mexico City at 5553455080.
