A year of the disappearance of student Elizabeth Elena Salgado Laguna in Utah, her relatives are still calling for a search in light of the indifference of the American authorities and the lack of support from the Government of Mexico.
Her relatives keep the faith and think that the young industrial engineer, who is also a missionary of the Mormon Church, is still alive. "We want you to come back with us to be as happy as it was before," they say.
They marked the anniversary of her disappearance, "a year full of pain, anguish and despair," with a march from the Bicentenario Park to the main square of the capital of the state of Chiapas, demanding the direct intervention of President Enrique Peña Nieto in asking the U.S. to reopen the investigations, closed three months ago.
"The only thing we want is for our sister to return home," said Ruth Yolanda, one of the relatives of the young woman of 27 who disappeared exactly last year.
Sara Yazmín, her other sister, said that Elizabeth "was excited, smiling and radiant. She was pleased and happy" for the chance to learn English in the Nomen Global Center in Provo, Utah.
Her father Julio César Laguna Ozuna thinks that the U.S. authorities decided to close the investigation about her disappearance because the racism against Mexicans, as well as the negligence of the Mexican authorities.
Her relatives also denounced that the educative authorities at Nomen Global Center have denied any support to the investigation.
The mother of Elizabeth headed a parallel march in Utah, where a $50,000 reward is offered for any information leading to the return of the girl.
Elizabeth was last seen leaving the language school.
Her uncle, Rosemberg Salgado of Rancho Cucamonga, said in an interview with People magazine that "we are all devastated. To have somebody in your family disappear is the worst thing imaginable."
The young immigrant had done mission work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in her native Mexico and later decided to work with the church in Utah.
She arrived in Provo on March 23 and was sharing an apartment with other Mormon women, her uncle said.
"She's a very spiritual girl, optimistic, always with a good attitude," he said. "Never in her life has she been one to get into trouble."
On the day she disappeared, she was wearing a denim jacket, blue jeans and knee-high boots, police said. She is 5 feet, 4 inches tall with dark hair and brown eyes.
After interviewing her family, friends and students, police said they have no real leads.