Search continues for SA teen missing nearly 9 years

Jennifer Apreciado hasn't been seen since Oct. 2006

SAN ANTONIO – In the fall of 2006, Jennifer Apreciado was living her life like most 17-year-olds.

"She was excited about a Halloween party," said her sister, Lisa. "She was like a little kid. That was the last time I saw her face smiling."

Jennifer never made it to that party. She disappeared Oct. 26.

Her absence has haunted her large family ever since.

"If she would have left, she would have told somebody. She was not that kind of girl to up and leave and not communicate," said Lisa.

San Antonio police agree. Melissa Martinez works in the department's Missing Persons Unit.

"Someone out there has to know something," said Martinez. "Someone out there has to have seen something that day."

‘She was scared'

Jennifer Apreciado left her boyfriend's home on the 200 block of Arizona headed for a bus stop near Wall and General McMullen. She called her boyfriend.

"She said that a vehicle was following her and she was scared. She noticed the same vehicle driving by slowly, circling the block," said Martinez.

Her boyfriend told police he tried calling Apreciado about an hour later. He said a strange woman answered the phone and said she had found it. Apreciado wasn't around.

At 4 feet 8 inches tall and weighing around 95 pounds, it would have been difficult for Apreciado to put up a fight against someone taking her against her will. If that's what happened to her, there's something else about her disappearance that concerns police.

"The fact that she disappeared in the afternoon – (in) broad daylight – and she hasn't been seen again," said Martinez. "She never made contact again with any of her siblings, her parents, anyone."

Missing Jennifer

In the nearly nine years since her disappearance, Apreciado's family hasn't given up the search. They've been in regular contact with police. As recently as this week, they put up new flyers in the neighborhood where she had last been seen in hopes of finding her.

In her absence, a niece was born and named after her.

"I just wish she was here and she could meet my kids, my brother's kids. We would all be together and have our fun days," said Lisa.

She said her younger sister is missed.

"She's really funny, talkative, (a) smart person," said Lisa. "(She's) loveable. It's hard for us not having her here."

‘Fill in the blanks'

"We have gaps in the time-line on the day she disappeared," said Martinez.

Apreciado's whereabouts on the day she disappeared aren't clear. Police have no specific description of the vehicle that was following her or even what the driver looked like.  It's the little details that have stumped everyone looking for Apreciado.

"Help us fill in the blanks. Any of those details might point us in the right direction, might help us find Jennifer, at least give us new leads to pursue," said Martinez. "Anything at all can be of help."

Her family agrees.

"We want to know something. I know people have hearts. Hopefully they have it in their heart and they'll go and tell them," said Lisa Apreciado. "It's hard not having my sister around. It's been nine years already and it's (still) hard."

Anyone with information on the case can call SAPD's Missing Persons Unit at 210-207-7660.