SAN ANTONIO – At 50, Elida Guzman was "becoming better with age." Her daughter, Mary Ann Briones, said her mother didn't just improve herself, she also motivated her children to do better.
When Guzman's children were waiting for her to meet them Oct. 28, 2008, there was no sign that the woman they loved had no intention of showing up. It's made Briones treasure a moment from the day before.
"Just hugging her and saying, 'Bye, we'll see you tomorrow.' Tomorrow came and we didn't get to see her again," Briones said.
As minutes turned to hours, the siblings made calls and even visited Guzman's home.
She was gone.
‘Someone stole my mother'
Guzman's case is one of hundreds of missing persons cases San Antonio police are investigating. It's one Melissa Martinez knows well.
"Elida was at home getting ready for work that afternoon, where she should have felt safe and secure," Martinez said. "She was on the phone with a very close friend when she had to hang up abruptly because someone was knocking at her door."
Police believe that someone was the last person to see her.
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Nearly seven years since that day, Briones said she can't stop thinking about it.
"Someone stole my mother. I know she didn't go on her own free will. Someone took my mother away -- all of our kids' grandmother away. We've lost this important piece of our family. Our holidays are never the same. Everyday barbecues, things like that, are never the same and now we live every day with this big old hole in our hearts that we just can't seem to resolve simply by not knowing what happened to her," said Briones.
A life left ‘untouched'
Guzman had just opened a bar on the 500 block of Pleasanton Road where she worked daily. There doesn't appear to be signs she was having troubles with the business.
"She had her home, she had her business, her children, her grandchildren. She had her bank accounts, she had clothing, furniture, food in her refrigerator. All that was left behind untouched," said Martinez.
Guzman's truck was parked in front of her home. It was locked up with her purse inside. Her cellphone was missing.
"Every bit of evidence was collected from her home," Martinez said. "We were unable to locate her."
Guzman's family and friends took matters into their own hands, putting up flyers and combing the south side of town, looking for any trace of her. They've still been unable to find answers to the questions they still ask today.
"There isn't a day that goes by that we don't wonder, that we don't do a double-take and (say), 'Oh, was that her? Could that have been her?' or did someone take her? Where did they take her? All the what-ifs, all the unanswered questions are in our heads every day and the not knowing, it hurts," said Briones.
‘Like a horrible nightmare'
While loved ones and even police accept that Guzman might no longer be alive, until they know where Guzman is, the questions and effort to look for her continue.
"It's been several years and we all miss her. We wish that we didn't have to go through this and simply lose her the way that we've lost her," Briones said. "I hope that someone can help us and bring some closure to this never ending mystery that we now live in that just seems like a horrible nightmare."
Worse, Briones said, is knowing she's not the only one in pain.
"Knowing that there's no peace, knowing that there's no closure and that there's so many unanswered questions, so many things that we wish that we could know or resolve for each other. I hate knowing that my siblings are feeling the same thing that I feel. I just wish that we could feel a little bit better," Briones said.
Police want that closure, too.
"She has been missing since 2008 and her family needs to know what happened to her. They deserve to have that answer," said Martinez.
Guzman's family and police hope the renewed attention on the case encourages the people who know what happened will finally come forward.
"I know it's not just one person who knows what happened. I would hope they put themsleves in our situation and at least try to provide some peace of mind," Briones said.
If you have any information on Guzman's case, call the San Antonio Police Department's Missing Persons Unit at 210-207-7660.