A 13-year-old girl, Maria Esmeralda Rivera, from Trio Village in the Stann Creek District, has been reported missing. She was last seen about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, by her father when she left home with an 18-year-old young man, travelling on a motorcycle headed towards the Southern Highway. Since then, she has not been heard from.

Maria’s mother, Angelica Garcia, 32, told police that she left her daughter at home with her father, Alfredo Rivera, and went to church in the village. Garcia said that while she was at church, Rivera came and told her that their daughter had left home on a motorcycle with a man who is 18 years old. They reportedly know the young man, who is from the same village.

Garcia further told police that the 18-year-old had been visiting her daughter for the past three months.

Maria Rivera was last seen wearing a black blouse, a black jeans skirt, and black sandals. She is about four feet tall, has a narrow face, is of fair complexion with long black hair, and has a mole on the right side of her upper lip.

Anyone who sees Maria Rivera or knows her whereabouts is urged to contact the nearest police station, or 0800- 922 – TIPS. Her mother is worried and wants her to return home.