Monica Cassandra Carrasco-Missing 10 Years

Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

 IN the late night hours of October 1, 2003 or the early morning hours of October 2, 2003, 16 year-old Monica Cassandra Carrasco was last seen going to bed by her cousins at her Aunt and Uncle's rural home, which was four miles east of Balmorhea, Texas. The residence was located at 3170 (Reeves) County Road 323. When the morning hours came around, it was discovered Monica was missing from her room. It is believed she went missing between 11:00 PM- 7:30 AM.
She had a door in her room leading to outside, and it was unlocked. An extensive search of her room showed everything was undisturbed. There was no missing shoes, bags or clothes and nothing was out of place. There was no sign of forced entry. The only thing missing was Monica's beige nightgown she was wearing, and her large black or white bible. Monica has never ran away before, and never went without contacting her family. She was also very religious and prayed a lot. She has not been seen or heard from since.

At the time of her disappearance, Monica was 5'5" and weighed 100-111 pounds. She has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Her hair had red streaks in it at the time of her disappearance. She has pierced ears and a chicken pox scar on her forehead near her hairline, along with a small light colored mole on her left cheeks. She also has dimples on both cheeks when she smiles. She was last seen wearing a beige nightgown, with no shoes and possibly carrying a large bible.
Monica is endangered missing, whether she left on her own or not, because she suffers from anorexia and low blood sugar. At the time of her disappearance, she was supposed to be taking an anti-depressant medication, which she did not take with her. She was also on a strict diet, and was under a doctor's care at the time she vanished. After losing her father to bone cancer in 2000, she suffered from depression. She may be in great need of medical attention. Her birthday is December 13, 1986.

 Monica had red streaks in her hair at the time of her disappearance. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Five months before her disappearance, in May of 2003, Monica was allegedly harassed by a bus driver. Although she never reported the incident, she was so shaken by the experience that she refused to take the bus to school anymore. The bus driver was interviewed and ruled-out as a suspect in her disappearance. Tragedy also struck the teen earlier in 2000, when she lost her father to bone cancer. Monica became so depressed, that she lost over 50 pounds and developed anorexia, which led to her being hospitalized. She decided to live with her aunt and uncle after being released from the hospital due to being angry with her mother. Her mother said their relationship problems were not serious, and believes her daughter would never run away and not make contact with her loved ones.  She also claimed Monica is not the type of girl who would hurt herself or attempt suicide. She was a junior at Alpine High School at the time of her disappearance.

In 2004, the search for Monica was in full swing when police searched three new locations. Investigators followed up on tips and even used a psychic to attempt to search for Monica. According to an article in My West Texas News, Cadaver dogs searched a historical church where Monica and the uncle she was living with, Abel Baeza, would often go to pray together. There was no result from the search. The second search was at the Lake Balmorhea site, which was not completed because the area was flooded. The third search site-a vacant filed five miles north of Balmorhea- was also unsuccessful. The search for Monica was massive, with the local sheriff's department and U.S. Border Patrol searching on foot with canine units. Helicopters were also used in the search.
In January 2013, The Reeves County Sheriff's office announced they were reopening Monica's case. According to an article in News West 9, Sheriff Art Granado believes more could have been done to solve Monica's case, and they want to take that opportunity now. He also said more people seem to be comfortable talking about the case now versus ten years ago. When asked if Monica's uncle, Abel Baeza, was a suspect in her disappearance, he claimed everyone is being treated as a suspect, and they are working on eliminating people. Monica's uncle previously failed a lie detector test when being questioned about her disappearance.

 Monica vanished in the odd hours of the night on October 2, 2003. She was apparently barefoot, in a beige nightgown with a bible in hand.
(Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

 Although investigators don't propose an actual theory of what they think happened to Monica, they know that Balmorhea is a small town with lakes, caves, rocky cliffs and rough terrain. With Monica vanishing barefoot, they surmise that she walked toward Highway 17, which was nearby, to and caught a ride with a stranger, since she could not have made it far walking barefoot in the rough terrain. Monica's aunt and uncle believe she may have became disoriented from her medications, wandered off, and got a ride with a passing motorist since Highway 17 runs by their home.

Monica's disappearance is one that has haunted more ever since I heard about it in 2005. One thing I can't seem to establish is if someone actually witnessed Monica walking barefoot in her nightgown by Highway 17. Some articles state it, but don't give any information, such as that a witness saw her or what time they saw her and where. This is a very important thing to establish, because if she was not witnessed walking along the road barefoot, then what is to say she even left the house? I hope this fact will be looked into, so they can rule her uncle in or out, especially since he failed the lie detector test. I also wondered how her relationship with her uncle was, and it if was a safe and positive one. I assumed so because she chose to live with him, but then again maybe she had nowhere else to go at the time. Hopefully the people closest to home can be looked at and ruled out first.

Monica's family say despite the recent loss of her father, she would never run away, stay out of contact with family or go off with intentions of hurting herself. (Photo Credit:http://www.txdps.state.tx.us)

My second theory has to do with Monica leaving of her own accord. Her aunt and uncle believe she may have been disoriented from her medications and wandered off. I looked up side effects of antidepressants, and some symptoms that may have come into play are insomnia, blurred vision, anxiety, irritability and dizziness. A lot of those symptoms don't sound "disorienting" to me, and if she did leave due to that, would there have been signs to show it? Items out of place in her room, the door left open, evidence around her home or where she would have been walking? I think a lot of those symptoms, like anxiety and insomnia, make it sound like Monica may have not been able to sleep, and decided to meditate or take a peaceful walk, with intentions of returning to her room. It explains why she was not dressed, barefoot and had her bible. She was very religious, so maybe she felt that need to pray that night. I wonder how close the church is she would go to. Could that have been her destination that night, leading to her being intercepted by someone along the way?

There was an unconfirmed sighting of Monica at a rest stop in Indianapolis, Indiana in June 2004. The witnesses say she left with an older male in an 18-wheeler. There could be the possibility of Monica being lured into human trafficking.(Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Another theory I have heard is that Monica may have met someone on the internet, who came in and took her from her room. Monica being abducted from her room is also a more logical theory then her walking around just in a nightgown, barefoot amongst a rough terrain. If you're running away, why not at least take shoes with?! Her being taken from her room would also explain why she has so little with her when she left. There was no sign of forced entry or a struggle, but the door in her room was also found unlocked. If she did leave, maybe she had the intention of meeting up with someone not far from her home. I feel that if Monica left to talk to someone that night or if she left to go for a walk, she intended on being back soon, which is why she was barefoot in her nightgown.

Finally, if Monica really was walking along the side of the road that night, for whatever reason, I believe someone picked her up during those odd hours of the night, with bad intentions. She was an obvious easy target, and would have not made it far barefoot without a ride. I looked through the NAMUS database, through cases in Texas and all the surrounding states, and I was unable to come up with any missing persons cases that seemed to be related to Monica's disappearance, except that of Asha Degree's.

 Asha Degree also vanished during the odd hours of the night, leaving her home and walking along the highway. Her case is not connected to Monica's, but is similar and unusual in circumstance. Both cases are unsolved. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

 On February 14, 2000, nine year-old Asha Jaquilla Degree was last seen at 2:30 AM in her bedroom in her Shelby, North Carolina home. Her parents discovered her missing in the morning. Two truck drivers reported seeing Asha walking South on Highway 18 between 3:30 AM and 4:15 AM. She left the highway at that point and walked into the darkness. Months later, multiple items of Asha's, along with some clothing, was found buried and wrapped in a black plastic bag miles away from her home. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. I do not think Asha and Monica's cases are related at all, but both are of similar circumstances. Out of all the cases I have heard of, there are the only two that involve a young teen or child walking by a busy road by themselves during odd hours of the night.

My fear is that if Monica was taken, it is possible she was sold into sex trafficking. Seven hours and 45 minutes away from Balmorhea, is Houston, which is linked directly to Balmorhea by I-10. Houston, Texas is one of the nation's largest human trafficking hubs, with businesses like strip clubs and spas serving as fronts for sex trafficking. There are over 200 active brothels in Houston, and although sex rings are being broken up, there are so many of them around. Houston's connection to different Interstates and proximity to the Mexican border also are factors. If Monica was picked up or met someone on the Internet, I think it is a possibility she is alive out there, sold into human trafficking. Many missing girls from stretching from Texas to Arizona are thought to be victims of human trafficking, and I think it's possible Monica is one of them, especially if she met someone online, which is one of the main ways "pimps" entice these girls out of their safe zones. Monica also fits the profile of girls pimps target, which would make it easier for them to break her down mentally so she would feel unable to escape and go back to her family.

 Police are working to eliminate suspects in Monica's disappearance. Her case was reopened in January 2013, and everyone could be considered a suspect. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Another possibility came into light when a couple reported that on June 30, 2004, they saw a girl fitting Monica's description at the rest stop area 7, west of Indianapolis, Indiana on Highway 70. They claimed Monica left with an older male in an 18-wheeler (or in other words, a Semi truck). The sighting was never confirmed. I wondered if they reported any information about the semi truck itself, but was unable to find anything. If this was Monica, does this mean she was hitching rides to get around? Was she picked up by this person and held against her will by him? Was she working as part of a sex trafficking ring? It is logical for a girl from Texas to end up far away from where she was taken. In fact, pimps prefer that, and they make it a point to move their "workers" around as much as they can to avoid detection, especially when the girl is being actively searched for, like Monica is. Tennessee is also a state where human trafficking is of great concern, and Indiana is not far from there. If anything, it gives hope that she's still alive.

The search for Monica carries on, and there is a $10,000 dollar reward being offered for her safe return home. Her case is active, and her family still holds out hope that they will have answers to what happened to Monica that evening. Her case is also on the FBI's list of missing persons. Monica is a beautiful girl with a kind heart. I have heard on many forums that she looks like a model, and she really does. Monica's case is one very close to my heart, along with many others I have come across where it seems these missing girls could be trapped in human trafficking, waiting to be found. They key in cases like this is to flood cities and truck stops with images of Monica, in hopes that someone may recognize her.  I hope they all are found, and I pray Monica will come home to her family soon.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Monica Cassandra Carrasco, please contact

An age progression of what Monica may look like today. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Reeve's County Sheriff's Office

432-445-4901

OR

 Texas Department of Public Safety

800-346-3243

OR 

1-800-THELOST

You can remain anonymous. Please bring closure to this case!
For more information on Human Trafficking and how to help their victims, please go to FBI: Helping Victims of Human Trafficking.

Sources:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/carrasco_monica.html
http://www.missingmonica.com/
http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news... 475626&rfi=6
http://www.amw.com/missing_children/brief.cfm?id=34036
http://www.dps.texas.gov/texasrangers/unsolvedhomicides/Details.aspx?&id=68
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/5244
http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/@@wanted-group-scroll-view?selected-uid=703513207f19ef8f6d7a432541e9e8fc
http://www.cbs7kosa.com/news/details.asp?ID=40765
http://www.newswest9.com/story/22176469/ten-year-old-cold-case-is-reopen
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/degree_asha.html