- Elizabeth Elena Laguna Salgado had only been in American for three weeks
- The former missionary from Mexico was last seen at an English language school
- Despite several appeals for information and a reward, the police had no leads
- Her body was found in a canyon by a man who stopped to go the bathroom
A murder investigation has begun after the remains of Mormon student were found in a canyon in Utah three years after she disappeared.
Elizabeth Elena Laguna Salgado, who was originally from Chiapas in Mexico, had only been in the United States for three weeks when she vanished.
The 26-year-old was in Utah to study English after completing a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elizabeth Elena Laguna Salgado was originally from Chiapas in Mexico
The 26-year-old texted her sister after leaving a language school but then vanished
After leaving Nomen Global Language Center in Provo she sent a text to her sister in Mexico at 1:30 p.m. but she never made it to her home, two miles away in the city, the Deseret News reported.
The authorities have now confirmed that skeletal remains found on Friday in the Hobble Creek Canyon area are those of Salgado
She was identified using dental records and a homicide investigation is underway.
Her body was found by a man driving up Hobble Creek Canyon above Springville who had to go to the bathroom and pulled off on the side of the road and went into some bushes.
He discovered the body there and then contacted the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
Police had few leads over the years about what happened to her, despite intense searches, pleas to the public and a reward for information.
Salgado’s body was found in bushes in Hobble Creek Canyon by a man who stopped to go the bathroom (file picture)
Her uncle Rosemberg Salgado made several pleas for information from the public about his missing niece.
The investigation into what happened to Salgado extended went beyond Utah.
Investigators have been to her hometown in Mexico, where her parents live, and to the areas in Mexico where she served as a missionary.
Last month her brother Rosenberg Salgado told the Salt Lake City Tribune: ‘We have hope and we have faith.
‘The Lord is going to help us find her. You always have to think positive.’
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