Sacramento teen missing since April with 25-year-old may have been victims of West Coast sex trafficking

Sacramento police are asking for the public's help in locating a 17-year-old girl who has been missing for nearly two months and is believed to be with a man in his 20s.

Isabel Gallego, a high school student studying independently, was last seen by her parents on the night of April 19 and was not in her room the next morning, according to her mother, Julie Gallego. The teenager left her phone in her room and only took a backpack with her.

The Sacramento Police Department reported that Isabel was believed to be with Kyree Jackson, 25, who is the subject of two felony warrants from Sacramento County – for illegal possession of a firearm and theft of a a motor vehicle.

While the girl ran away from home when she was 13, Julie Gallego said she believed Isabel had no plans to leave for a long time. According to her mother, Isabel Gallego had ordered jewelry to take senior photos, which arrived after her disappearance. The teen was also preparing for her 18th birthday in late June and had a boyfriend she was excited to move forward with, Julie Gallego said in an interview.

“It just wasn’t in his plan,” she said.

After Isabel Gallego left Sacramento, she was allegedly traced as far as Portland, Oregon, before being spotted in Seattle, according to police. She was considered at risk because of her age, and police department spokesman Anthony Gamble said investigators believed Isabel was a victim of human trafficking.

The teen met Jackson about two weeks before she disappeared, her mother said, and Jackson even came to the Gallegos' residence, introduced to Isabel's parents as a 19-year-old friend.

“He just gave us a weird feeling.”

“He came into our house, he shook our hands,” Julie Gallego said. “He brought us candy and he just gave us a weird feeling.”

Gallego said her daughter and friends knew Jackson as “a pimp” and that the 17-year-old was very trusting of people, which she said was “probably her downfall.”

However, Sacramento Superior Court documents show Jackson faces criminal charges for weapons possession and vehicle theft. According to court filings, Jackson failed to participate in his pretrial services and tampered with his court-issued ankle monitoring device, rendering it disabled.

Gamble said detectives “worked diligently” to find Isabel and Jackson, but investigators have “exhausted all their leads.”

Julie Gallego said she was “very grateful” for the work police did to find the girl.

“(The detective assigned to the case) put in many hours,” she said. “I’m so grateful to see how much he cares about finding her.”

The California Highway Patrol has not yet issued an Amber Alert for the teen.

Isabel Gallego is approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs approximately 105 pounds. She had brown eyes, green hair and multiple facial piercings at the time of her disappearance, but police note that her appearance may have changed. Jackson is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds.

Julie Gallego described her daughter as “very creative,” with hobbies including painting, drawing, crocheting and making pieces for clothing. She also expresses herself through piercings, clothing and hair colors, which her mother says are different every month.

She was also active in the Sacramento punk rock scene, frequently attending concerts at the Colony on Stockton Boulevard with friends, her mother said.

Sacramento police are asking anyone with information about the teen to contact the department at 916-808-5471.