Missing Utah Girls Updates: Authorities Continue Search For Two Teens Last Seen At Lake

A vigil was held Saturday night for the two girls who recently went missing on Utah Lake near Salt Lake City. Hundreds of friends, family members, co-workers, and more gathered near the Knolls, the section of the lake where Priscilla Bienkowski, 18, and Sophia Hernandez, 17, are believed to have disappeared.

“I know my sister is a fighter, and I know she attracted people just like her,” said Stephanie Cowles, Bienkowski’s sister. “This vigil is for the hope that they’re still out there... We won’t stop until we find them.”

Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon said that in the absence of any new discoveries or evidence that the massive search would be scaled down in the coming days. Bienkowski and Hernandez went missing Wednesday with searches over the past five days.

Cannon also said that authorities are not ruling out the possibility that the teens managed to get off the water and go somewhere else.

“We are sure they were on the lake Wednesday afternoon,” Cannon said. “But beyond that we don’t have anyone that saw them any further, that we know of… Because nobody saw them go in the water, we also cannot eliminate the possibility they went somewhere else. Maybe they're pulling a runaway prank, maybe someone did something to them. We don’t know.”

Bienkowski and Hernandez both hail from Saratoga Springs, Utah, a town roughly 11 miles north of the area where they went missing. Officials explained that the girls had bought pool tubes unsuited for use on a lake and went out onto the water. The two went missing following a bout of strong winds in the area that caused the water to become choppy.

“We still believe and hope that they are somewhere,” said Jimmy Hernandez, Sophia’s father. “I’m going to keep searching for my daughter. We’re going to keep searching for Priscilla. I’m not going to stop. We’re not going to stop.”