Missing Girl, 11, Might Have Run Off With 23-Year-Old Man

Jan. 26, 2009— -- Police are searching for an 11-year-old Texas girl who they say took off with a 23-year-old man she'd been sneaking out with.

Tyler Police Officer Don Martin told ABCNews.com that Iridian Julissa Rodriguez left a note in her backpack, saying "that she did not want to live there anymore, that she'd rather be dead, that she was going to Mexico."

Julissa, who goes by her middle name, was last seen in her bedroom around 11 p.m. Saturday. By 5 a.m. Sunday, she was gone. Police have issued an Amber Alert.

The note also said that the girl would call her parents if she made it to Mexico, Martin said.

They believe she's with Enrique Vasquez, a Mexican national who is on probation relating to burglary and assault charges in 2006, Martin said. Martin said Vasquez works as a day laborer and might be in the United States illegally.

Martin said Vasquez borrowed a 1999 turquoise Pontiac Firebird from a friend Sunday morning and that's the vehicle he and Julissa are believed to be traveling in.

"He said, 'Hey I'm going to take it to the store,'" Martin said, "and he never brought it back."

The Firebird, with Texas license plate T31-NJW, is missing its passenger side mirror.

"Last night we notified all the border stations to be on the lookout," Martin said, adding that the closest authorized border crossing is about a 12-hour drive from Tyler.

Missing 11-Year-Old Girl

Citing the ongoing investigation, Martin would not release information about how Julissa and Vasquez had met, how long they'd allegedly been seeing each other or the nature of the alleged relationship, only that they believed she had sneaked out with Vasquez for "several nights."

It was also unclear whether her parents, who could not be reached by ABCNews.com, knew about the relationship before their daughter went missing. Police say the parents learned about the relationship from an "independent" source that Martin declined to identify.

Messages left with a number listed for Vasquez's Tyler address were not returned today. Neighbors said they did not know who he was.

Julissa was last seen wearing a pink, zip-up hoodie sweatshirt and jeans. She is 5 feet tall, weighs 108 pounds and has brown shoulder-length hair, brown eyes and freckles.

Anyone with information about the case has been asked to call the Tyler Police Department at (903) 531-1090.