A Wendover teenage girl whose disappearance started a bi-state man hunt in Nevada and Utah is back home safe and sound.
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Laura Ortiz a 17 year old Wendover girl was reported missing by her frantic family Friday afternoon after reportedly telling friends she was leaving home to meet a man she became acquainted with online.
WWPD sent media alerts to Salt Lake, Reno and Las Vegas and the story received coverage on the evening local news on at least six televisions station in those cities and also across the internet.
She was described as 5’5, 150 pounds, brown eyes and brown hair with red highlights. She also has a number of prominent tattoos including one that spells “Brenda” on her left leg and one that spells “Juan” on her right leg. She also has a tattoo of stars with the letters “MP” on her right thumb and a tattoo on her right arm that spells the phrase “Don’t cry over a guy.”
The West Wendover Police Department also gave several possible destinations of where Ortiz and “Jesus” could have gone including Reno, Nevada, Minnesota, Arizona, and Mexico.
About 24 hours after her disappearance Ortiz called her family from Reno. Telling them she saw the story on a local news broadcast she added that she was fine.
By Sunday Ortiz was back home.
Police released no information as to the costs of the search.
The happy ending was profoundly different from the last missing teenaged girl report two years ago, Micaela “Mickie” Costanzo. Costanzo was reported missing in the afternoon of March 3, 2011. However unlike Ortiz police did not issue a formal alert until that Friday morning when Costanzo had already been murdered by Kody Patten and Toni Fratto.
Her killers later recounted that the young girl had been alive for up to three hours from her kidnapping to her murder.
