I spoke to the FBI today. This was a woman agent from New York State who was alerted to the disappearance of Michelle Sandoval by my friend, Charlotte Watson. I gave the agent the contact information for Elda and her daughter, Melissa, who is fluent in English. She said she would contact them. I do not know if she did or not today. I have written Melissa to ask.

I sent a series of questions that Charlotte compiled to Elda and Melissa related to Michelle. Those answers came back tonight. I have forwarded those to the group of people Charlotte contacted yesterday. Hopefully, this information will be helpful.

Also, I heard from a prosecutor here in LA who is the father of one of my students who offered to make a call to law enforcement here on behalf of Michelle. In addition, a church friend of mine is the friend of a friend who knows the former ambassador to Guatemala. Surely, that could be helpful.

The number of people who have been willing to step forward and lend a hand is very heartening. The scary part is how easy it could be for these folks with heavy caseloads to shift attention away from Michelle and onto another person in need.

I was walking by the fire station today and saw the “Safe Place” sign there with a picture of a baby, which is for young mothers who cannot take care of their children. I couldn’t help but think that we’ve come a long way as a society to protect children here in the U.S. and also to be sensitive to women’s issues. And yet, here is this young girl who disappeared almost a month ago, and there seems to be almost no help to find her. How can that be? Surely, it is not because she is undocumented. Surely, our society wouldn’t ignore the safety of a young girl simply because she didn’t possess the right paperwork. Surely, we, as a nation, are bigger than that in our thinking.

I pray that we are.

Here is a picture of Michelle Sandoval. She will turn 16 in February.