Francheska Sugel Martinez disappeared from Paterson, New Jersey on June 9, 2000, one day before her 13th birthday. She told her twin sister Misheila she was going to a nearby store and was seen walking from the family home at 17th Avenue and East 22nd Street. Later that afternoon Francheska called about 1:30 p.m., said she was with friends at the Great Falls on the Passaic River and told Misheila not to disclose her location. That call was the last contact the family had with her.

A few days after her disappearance a supermarket bag was left in the driveway of the family home containing the clothes Francheska had been wearing that day, minus her shoes; the clothing was reportedly undamaged. She was described as a Hispanic female with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing braces, a mole on her right breast and a discolored mark on her left arm.

Six weeks later Misheila also disappeared on July 22, leaving a note about being unhappy at home. Authorities have at times categorized the sisters as runaways, but other possibilities have been raised, including travel to New York boroughs, involvement with an older man, human trafficking, and a connection to the sisters’ stepfather, Hipolito Miguel Corniel, who was later convicted of killing a young woman. The cases remain unresolved.