The Elizabeth Salgado story: Here’s the timeline of events
Close to a decade after her disappearance from Provo, Utah, Elizabeth Elena Laguna Salgado’s murder is still shrouded in mystery.
But, Salgado’s family — and the private investigator they hired — aren’t giving up. The investigation is still active in 2023 to undercover the truth of what happened to Salgado and now her aunt, Miriam Salgado.
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Here’s a timeline of the events leading up to and following Elizabeth Salgado’s death.
What happened to Elizabeth Salgado in Utah?
March 2015: In late March 2015, 26-year-old Elizabeth Salgado moved to Utah from Chiapas, Mexico, per KSL-TV. In Provo, she attended a local privately-owned school called Nomen Global Language School to learn English, per ABC4.
New to the area and speaking very little English, Salgado didn’t have many connections but had been on several outings with a man from her apartment complex, whom she told her family about, according to Facebook posts by her mother described by ABC4.
April 2015: She also participated in her young single adult group in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, per KSL-TV.
Salgado’s family said she stayed in regular contact with them until an abrupt disconnect, three weeks after the move, ABC4 reported.
On April 16, 2015, Salgado began her walk home but never made it back to her apartment and seemingly disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.
April 2017: Two years after her disappearance, the family put a $50,000 reward for anyone who could track the young adult down, per ABC4.
“It’s the worst thing that can happen to a family, not knowing where she’s at or what is happening to her,” Rosenberg Salgado, Elizabeth Salgado’s uncle, told ABC4. “There are so many mixed emotions that we feel as a family, it is hard to describe what we are feeling.”
Was Elizabeth Salgado from Provo ever found?
May 2018: Nearly three years following her disappearance, her family still had no closure and no idea where Salgado had gone. They pleaded with the public to keep looking for answers.
On May 11, remains were found in Hobble Creek Canyon off the beaten path. A passerby went off-trail to use the bathroom in some shrubbery but stumbled on more than he bargained for, as reported by KSL-TV. He reported that he saw a skull and clothing, and immediately called the police.
Twelve days later on May 23, the remains were confirmed to be those of Elizabeth Salgado and her family was notified, per the Deseret News.
An active homicide investigation was enacted the next day, May 24, because of the body’s location — although at the time the cause of death was still uncertain, reported the Deseret News.
June 2018: With still very little closure on what happened to Salgado, her family gathered for a memorial on June 15, 2018, at the place where her body was found. They wore matching white shirts that had Salgado’s missing person poster on the front and placed a cross in the ground, as reported by the Deseret News.
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April 2020: The last information from the autopsy came in. No results for a cause or time of death or a potential lead were given, reported KSL-TV. Plus, the family’s private investigator, Jason Jensen, who also searched for Gabby Petito, found a potential lead at a church activity days before she went missing.
April 2022: As the case grew colder with little information, private investigator Jason Jensen looked for new clues to Elizabeth Salgado’s case.
Several suspects were ruled out, including two uncles, per KSL.
Of particular interest to Jensen was a construction site that Salgado passed every day on the way to school, per ABC4, where one worker implicated his co-workers in the pool of possible suspects. No evidence has been found.
January 2023: After several months' worth of work, Jensen said he was able to confirm a promising new lead — Salgado attended a church event just four days before her death, near the same canyon where her remains were found, reported KSL.
The Deseret News reached out to Jensen for comment, but he did not immediately respond.
Is Miriam Salgado still missing?
September 2021: Six years after Salgado’s disappearance, her aunt, Miriam Salgado, also disappeared near Zion National Park, per KSLNewsRadio. Her car was found abandoned at the side of the road.
March 2023: Miriam Salgado’s remains were later found and identified about three hours south of Elizabeth Salgado’s remains in March 2023, per KSLNewsRadio.
Now the family is left with questions for both Elizabeth and Miriam.
If anyone has information on the case, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office will take calls at 801-851-4000, or Jason Jensen, private investigator, can be reached at 801-759-2248.
Correction: A previous version of this article described someone as a suspect who was never considered a suspect by the police. We have removed that reference.
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