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Valley Mother Seeks Closure in Daughter's 2007 Disappearance

4 years 8 months 3 weeks ago Tuesday, July 02 2019 Jul 2, 2019 July 02, 2019 5:21 PM July 02, 2019 in Investigations

HARLINGEN – The mother of Abigail Estrada, a Harlingen teen who disappeared 12 years ago, is speaking out.

Ruben Torres pleaded no contest to his murder charge in 2017; he is currently in prison.

Abigail's mom, Yesenia Sanchez, packed up her family and moved out of the Rio Grande Valley a few years after her daughter disappeared.  

The last time Sanchez spoke openly of her daughter's disappearance was over a decade ago.

The family wants just one more thing to end this chapter of their lives; that is to recover Abigail’s remains.

"It's really hard we have no closure," says Sanchez.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS spent some time with Sanchez and her family in Austin as they took a Saturday to remember Abigail.

Abigail's siblings are now grown; they were children at the time of her disappearance.

Abigail's then boyfriend, Ruben Torres, picked her up from her home the night she disappeared.

“You know, a mother knows, and I had a bad feeling when I didn't hear from her, and they were taking long, and taking long, and I'm like what's going on,” says Sanchez.

Torres was charged in 2007, but the charges were dropped because of a lack of evidence.

The case went cold until 2013 when Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz reopened it.

Torres was then charged for Abigail’s murder.

Several people came forward during the investigation, and one person even said Torres told him he had taken Abigail out to a field and shot her in the head.

Torres never confessed to anything.

Sanchez says the pain will never go away, but can get better once Abigail’s body is recovered and she can be laid to rest.

Torres will be eligible for parole in five years.

One of Abigail’s aunts is offering a reward to anyone with information.

Anyone with information can contact Laura Estrada at 512-745-0675; anyone who comes forward will remain anonymous.

Watch the video above for the full report.

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