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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