SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) – Something happened to Anne Elliott’s life and it had lasting effects.
The one-time mother of two vanished in the summer of 2020 and has never been heard from since.
“She was an amazing mother, an amazing sister,” said her sister Emily Nardacci. “We had a great life.”
But following surgery, she was prescribed pain killers and was never the same.
“It just slowly happened, and you blink, and your family member is in this dark, dark hole,” said Nardacci. “I never expected this.”
The two sisters grew up in western Wyoming before Elliott, who also goes by the last name of Lancaster, settled in the Salt Lake area four years ago. Over the course of a few years, the mother of two went from an “amazing mother” to a jailhouse regular.
While living in the Salt Lake area, Elliott was arrested multiple times for drugs, shoplifting, assault, and other misdemeanor charges.
“She left her kids,” said her sister. “She took off and then all of a sudden, she was living on the streets and started using other drugs.”
Ann Elliott became another statistic in Salt Lake City’s homeless population. She moved from shelter to shelter and called the streets her home. Despite her troubles, Nardacci said she kept in touch with her sister through Facebook. But then, that line of communication suddenly ended. Elliott fell off the radar.
“For me, I know my sister and I know she would have gotten a hold of me by now or at least my dad,” Nardacci said. “We have never given up hope on her. I have never once turned her away.”
Nardacci is worried that her sister is a victim of human trafficking. She said it could serve as a means to feed her habit of drugs and earn badly-needed money.
In January, Salt Lake police posted her disappearance on its website. She’s also listed on NAMUS, a national database for missing persons and was recently placed on the website “We help the missing.” But no one has heard from her.
A private investigator learned a man named “Thor” befriended her while she was in the Salt Lake area.
“We just know that his name came up in conversations and that when she was released from jail, he was typically the friend that picked her up,” said Jason Jensen.
He said he has no evidence that “Thor” knew of her disappearance, but would like to get in contact with him. Prior to Elliott’s disappearance, her sister and other family members tried to get her involved in drug rehab. But it became a revolving door.
It’s been 18 months since Nardacci has heard from her sister. She said she will not give up on her.
“Just because she’s been homeless and she’s living that lifestyle, [it] doesn’t mean her life doesn’t matter,” said Nardacci. “She matters just as much as Gabby [Petito] matters. It has nothing to do with lifestyle choices, people matter.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Salt Lake City Police department or the family’s investigator Jason Jensen.
