Four girls who disappeared from an orphanage in Michoacán more than a month ago still haven’t been found. 

Laura Ximena, 14, Sandra, 11, Sandra Mareli, 16, and Evelin, 9, ran away from the Casa Hogar Alegría orphanage in Zitácuaro — 106 kilometers east of Morelia and near the México state border — just after 9 a.m. on November 21. It’s not clear where they were going or exactly why they left. 

Sandra Mareli’s sister, Amairani, said the 16-year-old was having difficulties at the orphanage. “She told me that she wanted to see me because there were problems with her companions [in the orphanage]. Those companions were fighting and she got involved and they got annoyed with her,” she said, speaking about her last conversation with Sandra Mareli on November 19.

The Michoacán Attorney General’s Office has requested the help of other states in the search.

Sandra Mareli was wearing black pants, a backpack, a black sweatshirt and sneakers and has a spot on her nose. Laura Ximena has short, black hair and was dressed in purple pants, a navy blue sweatshirt and sneakers. She wore a yellow backpack.

Sandra has short, black hair and was wearing jeans; a black, gray and white sweatshirt; and a black backpack. Evelin weighs 27 kilograms and had on navy blue pants, a navy blue sweatshirt, black sneakers and a backpack. She also has a spot on her nose.

The threat of violence is very real for girls Michoacán: the newspaper La Voz de Michoacán reported earlier this month that it’s the worst state in the country for child femicides.  

With reports from El Universal, Reforma and La Voz de Michoacán