Have you seen Monique? Detectives seek clues with reward in mother’s yearlong disappearance

The last time authorities received a tip about the missing mother’s whereabouts, they responded to a bleak and dusty address on the outskirts of Palmdale earlier this month.

Led by cadaver-sniffing dogs, homicide detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and investigators with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner dug into the desert floor, searching for Monique Figueroa’s remains.

“But the search met with negative results,� said Deputy Lillian Peck, a sheriff’s department spokeswoman.

Out of leads, detectives have announced a $10,000 reward they hope will renew tips regarding the woman’s yearlong disappearance.

Figueroa was 27 when she was last seen about 4 a.m. May 19, 2015, leaving her home in the 7200 block of East Avenue U-12 in Littlerock, Calif. She drove her black 2004 Mercedes-Benz SUV from her home to an unknown destination. She had left her 2-year-old daughter in her family’s care.

Her Mercedes was found abandoned in a shed in the rural community of Juniper Hills about a week and a half after her disappearance.

“There was no sign of Monique, but there were signs of foul play inside the vehicle,� Peck said in a statement.

Her family filed a missing persons report after they became worried because they hadn’t heard or seen her in days.

Figueroa’s father told KNBC-TV that he got a text message from her the day after she disappeared, saying she had to leave and would be back soon.

“We miss her, and we want her home,� Jeff Figueroa said.

He pleaded for the public’s help and urged his daughter’s presumed captors to “let her go� so she can return to her daughter, who misses her desperately.

“She’s been asking for her mom every day, and I don’t know what to tell her,� he said.

Monique Figueroa is 5-foot-3, weighs 140 pounds, has shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes.

Anyone with information about Figueroa’s whereabouts is urged to call homicide Det. Karen Shonka or Wayne Holston at (323) 890-5500. To remain anonymous, people also can call Crime Stoppers by dialing (800) 222-8477, or texting TIPLA with details to CRIMES (274637), or visiting https://lacrimestoppers.org.

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