IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) -- The family of a young woman gone missing on December 20, was worried about her safety nearly two weeks after her they last saw her.
Vanessa Alkurd's mother, Mayelli Alkurd, said her then 18-year-old daughter took the trash out on December 20th and never returned.
"We love her and that we need to know if she's okay," Alkurd said in a message to her daughter.
Mom said though stress from school weighed heavily on Vanessa, she has a meaningful life here with four younger siblings looking up to her.
"She volunteers at a Sunday school. She loves her siblings. This is very unlike her. I mean she crochets and she loves doing little markets and selling her plushies and making children happy," Alkurd said.
Vanessa's passport, some cash and clothes were gone.
One note family said the young woman left behind was concerning.
It spoke of dreams where harm may come to the family if Vanessa stayed.
"It showed signs of mental health. That she needs help," Alkurd said.
In a second message, Vanessa wrote to her little sister, Levien Alkurd, promising she'd return.
"I want my big sister back. She mostly helps me with everything," Levien said in tears.
Mom said an anonymous tip led them to take a trip to Roseville just outside Sacramento this past week.
Some told the family Vanessa was spotted at the Tarbiya House Mosque on December 24, then again on the 30th.
An employee there told Eyewitness News they gave Vanessa some financial help. Detectives with the Irvine Police Department said there were working to confirm this information.
Vanessa's grandmother, Eldemira Ponce, sent an on-camera message to her granddaughter in Spanish, telling her she loves her and begging Vanessa to communicate with her family so they know she is okay.
"If there's any way we can help, to please reach out. Let us know that she's okay. We want her back. We want her to come home. Even if she doesn't come home, we can set something remote if she's afraid for us. We can set something remote, but we love her. She needs to know we love her," Mayelli Alkurd said.
Vanessa just turned 19 years old this past Saturday.
Anyone with any information on her whereabouts is asked to contact Irvine PD at 949-724-7000.