A group calling for greater attention to the case of a mother from El Salvador who's been missing from the Boston area since November held a vigil in front of a police station in East Boston Tuesday as they aim to draw attention to the case.
Latinos Unidos en Massachusetts (LUMA) has been leading community searches and is hosting Tuesday's vigil. This weekend, the group published a letter calling for a meeting with officials and/or a public news conference to learn more about the search for Reina Morales Rojas.
Morales Rojas was last seen on Nov. 26 in East Boston, where she lived. That night, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, she was seen on surveillance video getting into a silver van. Boston police have said she was dropped off on Allston Street in Somerville.
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In Saturday's letter, LUMA argued that the public has questions about why Morales Rojas' case doesn't seem to be prioritized, while other women who disappeared more recently "received the attention that they deserved" within the same month they vanished.
"It is of grave concern to our community that the authorities have done little to move forward with the investigation of this case until now and without pressure from organizations such as ours," the letter read.
On Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the vigil, Massachusetts State Police tweeted that their detectives and Somerville police were helping Boston police investigate.
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Morales Rojas' family has said they are praying for her return so she can join her children in El Salvador. Her sister said that they talked every day, including the day she disappeared, so not to hear from her is strange.
“A mother’s love is like no other,” said Reina’s daughter, Kimberly, calling from El Salvador to thank the community for supporting them and helping raise awareness about her mother’s disappearance at the vigil Tuesday.
Formerly a police officer in El Salvador, Morales Rojas worked at Logan airport in Boston.
The Boston Police Department has asked anyone with information to call 911 or 617-343-4328.
