Car found, but girl still missing

Lorena Sanchez-Toledo, 12, has been looking for-ward to learning more about computers.
The Buford Middle School student recently finished her training with Computers4Kids, a pro-gram that helps low-income students improve their computer and learning skills. Sanchez-Toledo was going to have a mentor assigned to her to continue her studies.
However, Sanchez-Toledo hasn’t been in school Tuesday. She was reported missing after she left her home in the city’s Meadows neighborhood. Police said they believe she is with Jeremias Chagala-Mil, 31, of Charlottesville, and she is believed to be in danger. The Virginia State Police has issued an Endangered Missing Child Alert on her behalf.
On Friday night, city po-lice found Chagala-Mil’s 1997 red Mitsubishi near Sanchez-Toledo’s home, according to a Saturday news release from the department, and said he might have left the Char-lottesville area. Police have described Chagala-Mil as a 5-foot-4-inch, 150-pound Hispanic male.
Police Chief Timothy J. Longo said his department has partnered with the FBI to search for Sanchez-Toledo.
“None of us can imagine the sense of helplessness that Lorena’s family and friends are experiencing, but we are committed to accessing any and all re-sources at our disposal to ensure her safe return,” Longo said Saturday in a statement.
While police search for Sanchez-Toledo, her friends, family and teachers have been worrying about her, said Renata Germino, her English as a second language teacher.
“She has a lot of people at Buford who care about her, and we want her just to come back,” Germino said.
Germino described Sanchez-Toledo as a good-natured girl with a good sense of humor. Although she is smart, Germino said her student doesn’t always complete her homework on time.
“When she works hard, she does really well,” Germino said.
The teacher said her student, who will turn 13 next month, has told her she wants to improve her grades so she can earn a scholarship and attend college someday. Betsy Donahue, Sanchez-Toledo’s life science teacher, said her student’s grades and dedication already have improved.
Germino said Sanchez-Toledo loves to write and recently started reading the sequel to “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney after staying up one night read-ing the first book. Sanchez-Toledo also is known for helping new ESL students, particularly ones who speak Spanish.
Students in Sanchez-Toledo’s classes have been worried about her, her teachers have said. In Germino’s classes, some of her friends have com-plained of stomachaches and feelings of anxiousness. In Dorothy Carney’s sev-enth grade English class, Sanchez-Toledo’s class-mates spent Friday’s news-paper time talking about everything they know about her and coming up with ways to help.
Before coming to Buford eight weeks into the school year, Sanchez-Toledo at-tended Johnson Elemen-tary School, Walker Upper Elementary School and schools in Albemarle County.
Sanchez-Toledo is a 150-pound Hispanic female with black hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing blue jeans. Anyone who has seen her or knows where she may be should call the FBI at (804) 261-1044 or Charlottesville CrimeStoppers at 977-4000.