14-year-old Utah girl and 2 cousins found safe after going missing in Mexico, FBI says

Elizabeth Gonzalez's uncle is now facing charges in her disappearance.

ByNadine El-Bawab ABC logo
Saturday, July 13, 2024
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A missing Utah teen and her two cousins have been found safe, nearly two weeks after they disappeared in Mexico, the FBI said in a statement to ABC News.

Elizabeth Gonzalez, 14, and her two cousins, Sofia Mailen Moreno Zamora, 6, and Regina Moreno Zamora, 4, disappeared on June 30, while Gonzalez was in Mexico City visiting family, authorities said.

Mexican authorities found the three girls in Veracruz, Mexico, shortly after the FBI identified 31-year-old Antonio Moreno -- the biological father of Gonzalez's two young cousins -- as a suspect in their disappearance, the agency said. Moreno allegedly took the three girls without their mothers' permission.

Antonio Moreno
The FBI is looking for Antonio Moreno in connection with the disappearance of Elizabeth Gonzalez, 14, and her cousins, Sofia Mailen Moreno Zamora, 6, and Regina Moreno Zamora, 4.
Salt Lake City Field Office/FBIb

Surveillance footage allegedly shows Gonzalez and her cousins, who are Mexican nationals, getting into a taxi with Moreno. The FBI believes Gonzalez was allegedly "manipulated" by Moreno to get into the taxi.

All four were believed to be traveling together.

Elizabeth "Ely" Gonzalez
Elizabeth "Ely" Gonzalez, 14, is seen in an undated photo provided by the FBI.
FBI

The FBI has issued a federal arrest warrant for Moreno on charges related to Gonzalez's disappearance, including kidnapping. The U.S. will seek the extradition of Moreno, according to the FBI.

Moreno had been living in Kaysville, Utah, for the last three years, before he abruptly traveled to Mexico and allegedly took the three girls.