Julie Ann Gonzalez, 21 and the mother of a 2-year-old girl, disappeared without a trace two and a half weeks ago. Now, her family is pleading for help.
Her mother, Sandra Soto, says the behavior is totally out of character.
"She was going through the divorce and she was juggling being a single parent and holding a full time job. At the same time, she was always very reliable," said Soto.
Gonzalez was supposed to pick-up her 2-year-old daughter from her estranged husband for her custodial weekend. She showed up, but did not take her daughter with her. Soto recounts what the husband told her.
"She said: 'I have to go away for a few days. Can you watch her for the weekend?' And then that was it," she said.
No one has spoken to her since the husband reported seeing her that morning, March 26.
"Messages were coming out of her phone, but no phone calls. No phone conversations," said Soto.
Messages have also popped on My Space, but the family doesn't believe they are from her. Her little sister says, they're not the same positive messages Gonzalez posted before she disappeared.
"But looking at these posts on My Space, I'm thinking, there's something wrong here. I don't think that's my sister," said Samantha Petri.
And no one believes she would leave her 2-year-old daughter behind.
"If she left, she would have been back by now. It's not like her to leave Layla," said Soto.
The family says she's not been back to the pharmacy technician job she held for more than a year at an East Austin Walgreen's. Still they are holding out hope that she will come home.
"God gave mothers the gift of intuition... and my intuition says -- she's coming home. We just need to find her because she can't get to us," said Soto.
Austin police are investigating, and have been in contact recently with Soto. The case is being classified as a missing persons case, but is not considered suspicious. Because it is an open case, investigators would not release more information to KVUE.
KVUE was not able to contact the estranged husband, but did find several concerned messages posted by him on My Space.
