Exclusive: An international police effort is under way to help solve the case of a young Australian tourist missing in Las Vegas.
Melbourne woman Sally Grace Contarino vanished during the last day of her trip to the US and has not been seen for more than three weeks.
Amy and Lauren Contarino have flown to Las Vegas to search for their sister Sally. 9News
Her sisters Amy and Lauren Contarino are desperate to bring the 26-year-old home.
“We just want our sister home safely,” Amy said.
Sally has visited Las Vegas multiple times, drawn to the hiking trails nearby.
During this trip, she failed to board her bus back to Los Angeles and her flight home to Melbourne, despite making plans with friends and family.
Amy described the awful moment the realisation set in that Sally had not made it home.
“Later into that same day, the panic really started to set in because we still hadn’t heard from her, and you could no longer make it about the time difference, and that became very scary,” Amy said.
Sally was last seen on CCTV at Smith’s Marketplace on June 20, where she purchased protein bars and water.
Her sisters believe she was preparing for one last hike nearby.
Sally left her luggage at her hostel, but she took her passport with her on her walk.
The Nevada Police canine unit tracked her scent some of the way towards the mountain.
Investigators and her family believe someone potentially gave Sally a lift the rest of the way.
Melbourne woman Sally Grace Contarino has been missing in Las Vegas for almost a month. Supplied
“We believe that somebody out there does know something,” Amy said.
Her scent was picked up again on the hiking path but the trail went cold.
“It’s hard to say whether she made it back down and got a lift back into town or not from there,” Amy said.
Investigators and her family would like anybody who drove Sally to come forward.
Amy and Lauren have travelled to Nevada themselves in an effort to find Sally.
“I don’t know how to express how it would feel to have her back other than my heart would explode with happiness and relief,” Lauren said.
Their sister’s case has captivated web sleuths and the local community, with some even retracing Sally’s steps to help bring her home.
Amy and Lauren have travelled to Nevada themselves in an effort to find Sally. 9News
The 26-year-old appeared in an online video days before she vanished, showing her approached by somebody wearing Meta glasses apparently taking part in a social media trend.
The video is not believed to have any connection to her disappearance.
Las Vegas radio host Shawn Tempesta said interest in the case had grown.
“It has interesting factors to it, the Meta glasses video, stuff like that,” Tempesta said.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is conducting an investigation into her disappearance, and anybody with information is urged to contact them.
Local US residents have joined the search, with online and social media groups calling for information and providing updates.
One prominent social media account, Real Las Vegas, recently posted that Contarino’s family had been unable to find her John Hardy citrine pendant, a piece Sally wore habitually.
“If Sally was wearing the necklace, someone may have seen it, found it, or come across it without realising its significance,” the account told an online forum.
“It may also be worth keeping an eye on online marketplaces such as eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, and similar sites.”