On April 10th, 2019, Ermelinda Alvarado's family lost contact with her. She was last seen in Merced, California. Her rental car was found seven hours away from her home near the Interstate 10 about an hour east of Indio, CA. Her purse was in the car, along with her ID and money.

Her family took numerous trips to search the desert in Riverside County where the car was found. In one of their searches, they found her shoes, but Ermelinda was nowhere to be found.