Major Break in Case of Missing Teen Briana Esquivel

A missing poster has been tacked to the top of the San Angelo Swap and Sell Facebook page for months now, an effort to keep citizens aware that 16-year-old Briana Esquival still hasn’t returned home.

Her mother, Savina Garcia, and the remainder of her family have been searching for the teen tirelessly, and after three and a half months of false alarms and “sightings”, a letter has surfaced that may break the case wide open.

“Somebody received a letter from her, you know, stating why she left and why we don’t know where she’s at,” Garcia said. “She hasn’t been found yet. I don’t even know myself. My hopes are just for her to come home, you know. We don’t know where she’s at, nothing like that. ”

The letter, Garcia said, explains why Briana ran away on Jan. 21, but the mother has not yet been able to read it. She received a call this morning notifying her of the development and is waiting to find out more details.

Lieutenant David Howard, head of the police department’s Criminal Investigations Division, confirmed the news: “A local news station did receive a letter and the author of this letter purported to be Briana Esquivel. We’re not releasing information on the contents of the letter at this time and we are working to verify that she is indeed the author.”

The letter will be examined in-house by handwriting specialist Rodney Black. Lt. Howard could not provide an estimate on how long the analysis will take at this point, but asked that those with knowledge of Briana Esquivel’s whereabouts  continue to provide tips and information to the police department until she is returned safely home.

Briana’s mother was nervous but hopeful about the news on Tuesday, and said she’d learned of the letter this morning when detective Kelly Lajoie called to notify her that an anchor at KIDY had received it. She says her only hope at this point is that Briana is safe and will soon return home. San Angelo LIVE! is not affiliated with KIDY.

“It’s been three and a half months and it’s scary,” Garcia said. “I haven’t heard anything from her, nobody in my family, anybody who actually knows who she is…has heard from her. We just don’t know where she’s at. We have no leads whatsoever and this letter is the only thing we have to look forward to right now.”

Garcia said her initial reaction to Briana’s disappearance was shock, as her daughter is not the type to just leave. She believed the teen had run off with a friend in Abilene, but repeated phone calls and sightings in the community have led to uncertainty and worry.

“Everybody’s just like, ‘we’ve seen her over at this drug house. She’s been at that drug house’. Just random people, you know, from the streets, calling me,” Garcia said. “It’s nobody that knows her, it’s just people that have seen the flyer and think that it’s her.”

Despite the time elapsed since her daughter left her home on an early Wednesday morning, leaving only a brief note and taking school supplies and makeup, Garcia says she has kept her thoughts positive and is hopeful for her return.

“I just hope that she’s ok and hopefully this is her that wrote this letter,” Garcia said. “Hopefully we’ll get some kind of clue.“

Garcia said she wasn’t sure if she would be allowed to read the letter or not since police are still working to analyze the handwriting. She hopes that if her daughter has reached out to media she will hear what she has to say and return home.

“I would just tell her that for whatever reason, like I said before, I’m sorry, you know, for whatever upset her or whatever is going on with her,” Garcia said. “There’s nothing that can’t be worked out. I just love her and I do want her to come home.”

Briana Esquivel is 5 foot 2 inches tall, weighs approximately 150 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. Until the letter has been analyzed and the authorship confirmed, police are still requesting that those with potential information on her whereabouts contact the police at 325-657-4315. Anonymous tips may also be made at sanangelopolice.org.