This Teen Was Playing Outside When She Vanished Without A Trace In 2015
On November 25, 2015, 15-year-old Maria Isabel Elizalde was playing outside when she vanished without a trace, just one day before Thanksgiving.
“It’s been a nightmare. It’s been a nightmare,” her mother, Kathleen Rodriguez, said.
Shortly before her disappearance, Maria, who lived in Dallas, Texas, had asked if she and her two sisters could play with their neighbors outside. They were allowed and headed out between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
At the same time, Maria’s family was preparing food for Thanksgiving, which was set to take place the following day. At about 9:00 p.m., Maria’s stepfather also looked out into the yard and saw all three of the girls together.
Yet, mere minutes later, Maria’s mother, Kathleen, called out to the girls and asked her three kids to come back inside. Maria’s two sisters returned, but she never came back home and has remained missing ever since.
“The only ones that came in were these two, the younger ones, and she never came in,” Kathleen recalled.
Maria reportedly had a difficult upbringing. When she was just a baby, she was brought to Mexico by her paternal grandmother, spending most of her life in the country. Kathleen also wasn’t allowed to contact her daughter for years.
The teen only returned to Kathleen’s care about one year before she disappeared, following allegations that Maria had been abused by a relative while in Mexico.
Maria acted out from time to time and ran away from home on one occasion. However, she only left for a few hours.
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The evening she vanished, Maria wasn’t wearing a coat and had no money on her. According to Detective Ryan Dalby with Dallas Police Missing Persons, an Amber Alert also wasn’t triggered.
“At the time, there was nothing showing that she had been abducted or that her life was in danger,” he stated.
“She left home. A couple of possible sightings. None were ever confirmed, and she hasn’t been seen since.”
Now, Maria has been missing for over 9 years, and authorities believe she might be in Dallas, Cedar Hill, or the Balch Springs area.
More recently, in 2021, an age-progressed photo of Maria was featured on 15 digital billboards, being broadcast more than 1,200 times a day on each billboard.
“It’s putting her back out there, basically. Giving me more hope to hang on to, keep fighting, keep going every day,” Kathleen said.
The effort was led by the Texas Center for the Missing and Clear Channel Outdoor to raise awareness about missing kids in Texas. The billboard program helped bring home two missing teenagers, and Kathleen hoped it would do the same for Maria.
“I know she’s out there. Put yourself there as a mother, the pain that I go through every day. I think about her all the time. I miss her, and I love her.”
Maria was five feet tall, weighed 140 pounds, and had hazel eyes and brown hair with the ends dyed blue. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a blue sweater, and high-heeled shoes.
Anyone with information regarding her case is urged to contact the Dallas Police Department at (214) 744-4444.
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