LITTLEROCK – A prayer vigil for missing Littlerock resident Monique “Mo” Figueroa was held Sunday at the Littlerock Community Church as family and friends sought to raise both awareness and money to help find the 28-year-old mother.
Monique has been missing since May, and her family believes she was abducted.
Her father, Jeff Figueroa, asked participants at the vigil to help with the family’s fundraising campaign to hire a private investigator to speed up the investigation into Monique’s disappearance, while reserving criticism for how Sheriff’s detectives have handled the case so far.
Jeff told The AV Times prior to the vigil that he is frustrated with the current attention given to his daughter’s case. He said that he tried reaching Sheriff’s detectives last Friday after learning someone received an incoming call from Monique’s missing smartphone.
The anonymous friend attempted to call back the user of Monique’s phone, but there was no response, according to the father. Jeff was not able to relay this development in the case to detectives until Monday. By that time, Sheriff’s investigators said it was too late to track the phone because it had been shut off by the user.
“My opinion is that if they would have jumped on it right away, they might had been able to ping the phone and find out where that phone was,” he said. “I’m very upset with the police department.”
Jeff told people at the vigil that the investigation is no further along than when it began two months ago.
“We’re not getting any answers at all,” he told the nearly 70 people in attendance at the vigil. “I’ve already asked how much closer are we from day one – and we’re no closer at all.”
Family and friends sold T-shirts and handed out flyers to keep hope for Monique alive in the community. During the service, several people took turns praying for Monique, her safe return and to comfort family and friends.
K.C. Wahe, a “pastor friend” to the Littlerock Community Church, said he was there to offer support to Jeff and his family, saying, “God is with us when we need Him the most, which is why we are here tonight.”
Wahe told people congregated at the vigil how important it was to pray for each other under the current circumstances, but most importantly, to pray for local law enforcement officers.
“We have to pray to God to work with them,” Wahe said. “Like Jeff, if I were in his shoes, I would want every police officer in the world to listen to me. I would want them to answer every phone call. I would want them to be there at my side.”
Jeff appealed to participants of Sunday’s prayer vigil to come forward with any information on his daughter’s disappearance.
“Some of these people in here know these characters we’re looking for, but you’re afraid to say something,” Jeff said. “But don’t be afraid to tell me because I’m not afraid of these guys. I need to know. I’ve passed the information over to the Sheriff’s department on everything I’ve heard. Pass it along to me – I’ll handle it.”
When asked how he was holding up over his daughter’s disappearance, he said he just wished he could get some positive news on the progress of the investigation.
“I’m not going to lie – I’m just falling apart,” he told The AV Times. “As a dad, the horrible part is watching the law tell me they’re overworked, they have other cases, that my daughter is not the only one, and they’re on court trials. So [they say] her case is not forgotten about, but it’s not at the top of the list.”
The family has set up a donation website at http://www.gofundme.com/FindingMo to help fund the community’s increasing effort to find Monique.
Monique has been missing since May 19 when she was last seen driving from her residence at about 4 a.m. Her abandoned 2004 Mercedes Benz was found May 30 off a road in Juniper Hills, which prompted authorities to release a “Missing Person” Special Bulletin.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective Shonka or Detective Holston of the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
Previous related stories:
Second vigil set for missing Littlerock woman
Family holds vigil for missing Littlerock woman after vehicle found abandoned
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KUHOOK says
All electronic data is saved for at least 5 years as we know from Edward Snowden’s revelations about goverment data collection & surveillence. Het cell phone provider must forfeit all records & assist law enforcement under federal law somebody just needs to go demand it. Does not matter if phone is off or disconnected records & history exist. In databases. Whoever friend is that received call should forfeit phone to LE & BE LOOKED AT AS POSSIBLE WITNESS.
Earlier i said:
Cell phone data is the missing puzzle piece here. LE has ability & technology to do a data scour, pinpoint exact location of phones if location service is turned on in settings. Location of cell phones can also be traced by using wifi or data connect points including any social media apps on phone. Even if location is turned off tower triangulation can be used to locate phone. Little known to public is cell phone proximity which will show any & all phones around her phone at the time. Its pretty unpopulated there on that stretch of road especially at 4 a.m. so it would be maybe a few dozen signals at the most in that area. Running a proxinity screen will give you all the ESIN #S OF PHONES ANYWHERE NEAR HERS AT TIME OF DISAPPEARENCE. Locate those phones & interrogate owners. Cell phone search warrants are rubber stamped by local judges these days. Social media is also key. Somebody knew when & where she was going or possibly her friends she was going to visit gave info to those responsible whether knowingly or unknowingly. WHERE THE HECK IS THE FORENSIC PAINT MATCHING TO ID VEHICLE THAT RAN HER OFF ROAD? SO sad could be solved by now if these tools are used.
Teri says
Jeff. I love you to the moon and Back,
Please Dont give up! You must have faith.
KUHOOK says
At this time most experts would agree this is the time to ask the FBI to get involved if they are not already. The reason is because it has been over 90 days so it will be somewhat easier to convince them that all leads are a dead end for local law enforcement unless you know otherwise. One beacon of hope is that if somebody wanted her dead there would be no reason to kidnap her first. It creates a way bigger logistical problem for the criminals, leaves a lot more evidence, takes a lot more time, and really makes no sense. There does not seem to be much publicly available information about the case that she is rumored to be a witness about. This could, I emphasize could, but does not necessarily mean that either the case has been frozen due to lack of evidence or witnesses, or that one or more of the potential suspects has turned witness for the prosecution. One way to find out if someone has turned witness for the prosecution is to find out if they are allowed to have visitors in jail. If no one seems to be able to locate the inmate and nobody has been able to visit the inmate for some time, this could, and I emphasize could mean that inmate has turned witness. Most cell phone companies will provide you paper print out hard copies of text messages and phone calls from a phone if you can prove that it can help solve a crime. Scouring over text messages and phone calls can probably help lead to somebody who knows something. Maybe try a face to face interview with McKell or send someone in to do it. You might learn alot. I would ask to have his phone calls & visits looked at under a microscope both before & after she disappeared.t All the best
JustTweakIt says
SUBMIT YOUR STORY TO “UNSOLVED MYSTERIES” TV SHOW. PROLLY GET ALOT FURTHER WITH THEM INVESTIGATING. I PRAY FOR EVERYONE WHO LOVES HER. THAT’S ALL I GOT 2 SAY BOUT THAT.
Robert Brady says
The cna still pull the cell phone records to find out what cell tower the call was going thru and at least get some idea of a general location.
Yabba says
I do not understand. Why has the sheriff dropped the ball on this investigation? It’s totally weird that missing people disappear off the radar.
I cannot contribute until the whole investigation is revealed to we the public. She obviously left on her own, and no one questioned it at the time. Has the FBI been given this assignment? With all the crime high technology, it’s puzzling and perplexing that we’re only hearing all this currently from her family.
Be smart everybody: Donate directly to a private investigator. I just do not trust people that start asking for donations.