The Cuban singer and entertainer Juan Alberto Rodríguez Roldán, artistically known as Chepo la Salsa, launched a desperate campaign on social media this weekend to locate his 13-year-old niece Samantha Martha Ramirez Roldán, who has been missing in Las Vegas since November 12 at 4:00 PM.
The minor was last seen on Fremont Street, the bustling tourist area in the historic downtown, and since then her family has not heard any news about her whereabouts.
Chepo la Salsa, based in Las Vegas, published at least three videos and a bilingual poster on his Facebook account featuring photographs of the teenager, accumulating more than 37,000 views on the main video and hundreds of shares among the Cuban and Latino community in the city.
"My people, this is something urgent that I ask of you, please: my niece Samantha has been missing for two days," the visibly distressed artist declared in one of the messages posted on Friday.
In another video, the singer explained that the family was already in contact with the Las Vegas police, but that the authorities had not issued an Amber Alert because that mechanism requires evidence that the minor is in imminent danger or has been a victim of kidnapping.
"The alert is not issued until they see that she is in danger, meaning that it must be something like a kidnapping, which is why they are not going to issue that alert," Chepo explained.
According to the artist, the last thing known about Samantha was that she was at a park in the area with a friend, who also did not come forward to testify before the authorities.
"The latest information is that she was at a park in the area with another friend, a friend who is also currently unavailable; she left and did not want to give a statement," he detailed.
The child's mother also appeared in one of the videos to speak directly to her daughter with an emotional message.
"If you ever see this video, your whole family is looking for you, we love you, don't feel bad, we all love you, don't think that anyone has stopped loving you, we are waiting for you," said the woman.
The search poster distributed by Chepo la Salsa is bilingual—both in English and Spanish—and includes two photographs of Samantha, who has dark curly afro hair and was wearing a pink T-shirt at the time of her disappearance.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the adolescent can call 911 or the family’s direct number: (702) 589-1496.
Similar cases of Cubans in the diaspora turning to social media to search for missing relatives are common in the United States, where the Latin community uses these platforms as a tool for alerting others about the urgency of the circumstances. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has a specialized unit for missing persons available to address these types of cases.
"Help me find my niece, poor thing, she’s only 13 years old. I'm asking you from the bottom of my heart, please share this on all pages, all over the world," Chepo la Salsa pleaded in his call to the community.
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