Missing Girl, 11, Might Have Run Off With 23-Year-Old Man
Texas police say Julissa Rodriguez might be headed for Mexico with man, 23.
Jan. 26, 2009— -- Police are searching for an 11-year-old Texas girl who they say took off with a 23-year-old man she'd been sneaking out with.
Tyler Police Officer Don Martin told ABCNews.com that Iridian Julissa Rodriguez left a note in her backpack, saying "that she did not want to live there anymore, that she'd rather be dead, that she was going to Mexico."
Julissa, who goes by her middle name, was last seen in her bedroom around 11 p.m. Saturday. By 5 a.m. Sunday, she was gone. Police have issued an Amber Alert.
The note also said that the girl would call her parents if she made it to Mexico, Martin said.
They believe she's with Enrique Vasquez, a Mexican national who is on probation relating to burglary and assault charges in 2006, Martin said. Martin said Vasquez works as a day laborer and might be in the United States illegally.
Martin said Vasquez borrowed a 1999 turquoise Pontiac Firebird from a friend Sunday morning and that's the vehicle he and Julissa are believed to be traveling in.
"He said, 'Hey I'm going to take it to the store,'" Martin said, "and he never brought it back."
The Firebird, with Texas license plate T31-NJW, is missing its passenger side mirror.
"Last night we notified all the border stations to be on the lookout," Martin said, adding that the closest authorized border crossing is about a 12-hour drive from Tyler.
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