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PROVO — From posting her picture on Facebook pages to participating in search parties, many Utahns who do not know Elizabeth "Elena" Laguna Salgado are keeping on the lookout for the 26-year-old woman.
"I've never met her. I actually haven't even met her family," said Brianna Goodale, a co-organizer of a search for Salgado starting at Kiwanis Park on Wednesday evening.
Goodale's motivation behind organizing the search, she said, was knowing that if she personally were to go missing, she would have a large search party of people who know her searching.
"Elizabeth was only here a couple of weeks before she disappeared, so she doesn't necessarily have that same sort of social circle," she said.
This type of concern and compassion for Salgado is present in many residents of Provo and Utah.
Cyd Galang, who lives in Salgado's former apartment complex, posted the event link for the Wednesday search to her followers on Facebook, asking that they keep Salgado in their thoughts and prayers.
When asked if she knew Salgado, Galang replied, "I actually don't know her personally. She disappeared before I got to know her."
Several members of multiple Facebook pages dedicated to finding Salgado recently posted a link to a video broadcast by an Arizona TV station that shows a woman who matches Salgado's description being forced into a car by a man outside of a gas station.
We are very grateful. We know that the police department is working very hard, but sometimes it isn't enough.
–Rosemberg Salgado, Elena's uncle
However, Salgado's uncle, a Lehi resident, and parents — who have flown to Utah from Mexico to look for their daughter — say they have viewed the video and know the woman in the video is not Salgado.
Additionally, an update released by the Arizona media outlet late Tuesday confirmed what the Salgados already knew. The woman in the video was found safe, and the suspect in the video was arrested.
Provo police said the department has received several tips per day from people who believe they have information about Salgado's disappearance. However, none of the tips have been helpful to the officers in discovering the Provo woman's whereabouts.
"We are very grateful. We know that the police department is working very hard, but sometimes it isn't enough," said Rosemberg Salgado, Elena's uncle.
The family is participating in the search constantly. They have made several T-shirts to wear that have Elena's picture on the front, in addition to taping flyers on the windows of their cars.
Rosemberg Salgado voiced the family's frustration that their daughter had not been found, claiming that many of their friends in Mexico are curious as to why the search is taking so long.
He also said the family is disappointed that Elena has disappeared in an area that she and her family were hoping would be safe.
Contributing: Nicole Vowell
