Grad Missing in Nepal: Family Pleads for Expanded Search

June 29, 2010 — -- The parents of a 23-year-old Colorado woman who has been missing in Nepal for three months made an impassioned plea to the U.S. and Nepali governments today to expand the search for their girl who they believe is still alive.

"There's no evidence that she's dead -- that's why time is of the essence," Paul Sacco, father of missing Aubrey Sacco, told "Good Morning America" today. "We need to bring all of our resources to bear, from the United States government to the government of Nepal and we can't be casual about it."

Aubrey Sacco, a recent University of Colorado graduate from Greeley, Colo., was last heard from April 20 when she sent an e-mail to her parents. Not long after she failed to return home in early May, Paul Sacco traveled to Nepal to search for his daughter.

Though he found Aubrey's laptop, journal and video camera in her hotel room, Paul said the most telling clue was the overall impression he got from the trail she had been hiking.

"We learned that the hike is not a technical climb, not like people when they think of Mount Everest. It's more of a trek," Paul said. "It's a giant mountain... but really not that dangerous of a hike. What we learned by going there and hiking her path is that there's very little danger of her falling off something, into water or off a cliff, as we originally thought."

Aubrey's mother, Connie Sacco, said she has no doubt her daughter is alive.

"I feel that she's alive. As a parent, I feel that's the biggest thing, that she's still alive. I don't feel a dread that we've lost her," Connie said today. "I just can't explain it, it's just something I feel. Everybody we speak to seems to have the same feeling -- that's what we hold on to."