EL DORADO, Kan. – An 18-year-old community college student has been missing since Friday, and authorities said they suspect foul play in her disappearance.
Emily Sander was last seen at the Retreat, a bar east of El Dorado, leaving with Israel Mireles, 24, police said. Her car was found the following day at the bar.
El Dorado Police Chief Tom Boren said Mireles is the last person known to be seen with Sander.
On Saturday, authorities searched a room at the El Dorado Motel, where a manager reported an altercation may have occurred. Authorities will not release details of what they may have found, but said they believe the Butler Community College student was the victim of violence.
Police asked for the public's help in finding the teen.
"We need closure on this one, one way or another, and hopefully it's a good one," said Sander's grandfather Clement Sander.
Sander was described as 5-foot-3, with brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing low-rider blue jeans, a "Don't Mess With Texas" T-shirt and tennis shoes. She has multiple tattoos and body piercings.
Her grandfather described her as independent, saying she had worked multiple jobs because she wanted to be out on her own.
Mireles worked at a restaurant that recently opened next to the motel, where he had been living, Detective Justin Phillips said. The motel is 1 1/2 miles from the El Dorado bar.
Phillips said Mireles and the teen were "friendly together at the bar."
Police are looking for Mireles and his 16-year-old girlfriend. Mireles was described 5-foot-6, weighing about 130 pounds. The two are believed to be traveling in a gray or green Ford Taurus rental car.
Authorities said they don't believe Sander is traveling with them. On Monday, police said they tracked Mireles to Texas and want to find him before he crosses the Mexican border.
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