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A year after Elizabeth Elena Laguna-Salgado vanished while walking home from school in Provo, family members and police are asking for any clue that might help them find her.
Rosemberg Salgado, Laguna-Salgado's uncle, said police have put in thousands of hours trying to find his niece, who would now be age 27, but no leads have panned out.
"We're frustrated," Salgado said Saturday, adding he believes "someone out there knows something and that person should come forward."
"In our heart, we feel she is still alive," he said.
The Provo Police Department posted a plea Thursday on its Facebook page for "any information on this case, no matter how small the detail" and asks tipsters to call the department at 801-852-6210.
"We are still working this case and we are still investigating tips from the public on any information that may lead us to locating Elizabeth," the posting says.
A reward of $50,000 is being offered for information leading to Laguna-Salgado.
The last known sighting of Laguna-Salgado was at about 1:30 p.m. April 16, 2015, as she walked home from the Nomen Global Language Center, 384 W. Center St., to her apartment at 1800 N. 450 West.
Laguna-Salgado had gone on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in her native Mexico after getting a college degree. She came to Utah to study English. She had been in the state only one month and spoke very little English before she disappeared.
Several days after the disappearance, Laguna-Salgado's family members, police, the Latin American Chamber of Commerce and others — including kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart and her father, Ed Smart — held a news conference asking for help finding the young woman.
On Monday, another news conference is scheduled to renew the plea for help. The Smarts again plan to be there.
Ed Smart — the director of prevention and rehabilitation for Operation Underground Railroad, which rescues children from labor and sex slavery around the world — said Saturday that he believes Laguna-Salgado was kidnapped and might have been trafficked.
"Coming up on a year, it's very difficult for the family," Smart said Saturday. "They have not had any viable leads. We need everyone to keep their eyes open."
Laguna-Salgado is described as about 5 feet 4 inches tall, about 125 pounds, with long black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a denim jacket, blue jeans, black or brown knee-high boots, and was carrying a denim hand bag with red straps.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC