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By Monica Sager
Live News Reporter
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Vanessa Simmons walked into the kitchen on April 17 to make her coffee.
Her high-school aged children were already off to classes 30 minutes away.
Her 21-year-old daughter, Elizibeth "Lizzy" Green, was heading off to her first full day of work at the neighboring ranch.
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The mother and daughter spoke about Green's upcoming day. She was hired to clean the ranch, just a 10-minute walk from her family's ranch. Green decided she would walk there.
"She was like 'Okay, mom. I love you. I'll see you later," Simmons told Newsweek.
Green never came back.
And now Green remains missing from the community of Callao in the northern Snake Valley more than a month later.
"We just want to know she's safe," Simmons said. "She doesn't have to come home. I just need to know she's okay."
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What happened to the young rancher?
Green left her Utah home around noon on April 17 to start her new job at a neighboring ranch.
She was last seen wearing a pink tie-dye high cut hoodie, according to the missing person's report from the sheriff's office. She was wearing a light blue pair of jeans, black converse with white trim high tops" and had a white backpack purse "with sprinkles on it," according to Simmons' post on Facebook.
She is described to be 5-foot-11-inches tall and weighing 125 pounds. She has green eyes and light brown hair. Simmons also posted on Facebook that Green has a mole on her left cheek.
About two hours later, Simmons and her husband went on a walk and did not see Green at the ranch like the expected.
"We weren't really concerned because it's basically family all the way around us," Simmons said. "
Simmons' son, William, went to work at the ranch later. He had been working there, along with some of his and Green's other siblings for about a year, according to Simmons.
"We didn't think anything of it because maybe she was out wandering and she stopped and talked to somebody," her mom said.
He came back around 6 p.m. and told his mom that Green still was not there. She was not worried because Green is 21 years old and allowed to be out, especially since it was still light outside.
As darkness loomed around 8 p.m., Simmons began to worry. The family walked to the neighboring ranch. The wife did not see Green and does not believe she ever came to the ranch since there were no signs of cleaning.
At 10 p.m., Simmons made a report for a missing person. The search and rescue team came out in the morning.
The Juab County Search and Rescue team started their investigation on April 18. The department searched between Green's home and the ranch she was heading toward, according to a search warrant filed to access Green's devices.
Deputies also searched the ranch and "did not locate anything suspicious."
"Based on the information that we have received, we are concerned about the possibility that Elizibeth is in danger of serious bodily injury or death," the warrant reads. "It is unknown if Elizibeth is in danger and lost in the vast desert, or if someone that she was communicating with met with her and is holding her against her will."
The ranch is about three hours away from any major cities, according to the warrant. It also requires travel on dirt roads to get to.
Search teams have tried to ping Green's cell phone but are yet to receive a response.
Who is Lizzy Green?
Her mother described Green as an active woman who's always doing something: crocheting, using her certification in office management certification two-hours away in town, or helping out on the ranches.
"You got to keep them busy," Simmons said. "They can't get in trouble if you keep them busy."
Green wanted to be part of Job Corps. She was also working to obtain an associate's degree to become a school social worker, focusing on middle school aged children.
"She's a magnet," Simmons said. "She can't go anywhere without being bombarded by children."
She is also working to get a state ID with Simmons.
Green wanted out of town though, Simmons said.
"I know that she was not happy here because there's not a lot to do," Simmons said. "She was speaking with a friend who lives in Omaha, Nebraska. They talked about meeting up."
Green wanted to buy a plane ticket and see her friend for a couple of weeks.
"That was the only real disagreement conversation we had," Simmons said. "That was a couple weeks before (she went missing)."
Green asked Simmons if she'd stop her from heading to Nebraska.
"I was like 'I don't want to send you off away, no,'" Simmons said. "'But you're 21. I wouldn't be able to stop you even if I wanted to.'"
Simmons added Green also has family in Texas and Illinois.
Green had changed the pin on her Venmo and Cashapp accounts the morning she went missing, according to Simmons. No one in the family had access to her accounts though, Simmons said.
People close to Green told investigators that she suffers from mental health issues and has run away before the warrant says. But records say Green would always return and communicate with the family within a day or so.
Anyone with information about Green's whereabouts is asked to contact the Juab County Sheriff's Office Dispatch at 801-794-3970.
"She doesn't have to come home," Simmons said. "I just need to know she's okay."
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