A widespread search effort has been launched to find a young woman, age 19, who has disappeared seemingly into thin air from Edmonton International Airport after not boarding the same flight as her family to Vancouver.

Henrietta Coen, known by family and friends as "Etta", was accompanying her mother, father, and sister to Vancouver for a week of shopping and relaxation on February 8, but she did not get on the plane behind her family members.

Security videos of the terminal show that Henrietta left the airport by herself, leaving one of her bags and her cellphone on the sidewalk of the Arrivals/Pick-Up lanes.

Family and friends have nothing to show for their search efforts, now spanning a month, other than hard questions. Henrietta was a "funny, friendly" tour guide at the Telus World of Science as well as a waitress at a well-known entertainment centre in the city. She did not have a history of mental illness or substance abuse, and she has never run away or gone somewhere without informing friends or relatives.

While talking to local press, the young woman's parents discussed Henrietta's disappearance in more detail as they try to piece together her whereabouts.

"We were so excited about this trip. Etta was standing in line behind us at the departure gate. She was about 3 or 4 people behind us," her father, Pat Coen, told CBC.

Fleur Coen was ahead with her other daughter, and noticed that Henrietta was quite far back in the line.

"When I looked back, I remember thinking, 'Where is she?'" she told CBC. "She was way back there, and I said, 'Hurry up, we have to get on board,' and then I boarded."

Henrietta, however, never got onto the plane.

"We were all in our seats, and we could hear the flight personnel calling her name over and over, but she wasn't showing up," Fleur said, "like she just didn't get on the plane, period." Thinking her daughter had detoured to a washroom, Fleur got off the plane and started searching for Henrietta.

"I was looking in bathroom stalls and everywhere, just losing my mind. I even ran all the way down to the International Departures and looked in all the lounges," she said.

Four hours later, still not locating Henrietta, her parents contacted airport security who then tracked the security footage showing the young woman leaving the airport terminal alone. Upon searching the outdoor Arrivals deck of the airport, security discovered a bag left on the sidewalk. On top of the bag was Henrietta's cellphone.

"It seems as if she took a few things out of her claimed baggage and put them in her carry-on bag, choosing to leave the bigger bag behind," Sam Eyre from the Edmonton airport said. "It still had all her clothes and personal belongings in it."

Investigating RCMP Officer Ron Yoshida commented, "There is no indication of foul play at this point. Nothing appears to indicate a crime has been committed. It's a very strange incident."

Pat Coen, the girl's father, added that Henrietta is single and seemed withdrawn in previous weeks, especially around the festivities of another sister's wedding, but she had not been acting strange or out of character.

Fleur Coen also mentioned her daughter was not taking any medication, and she has no existing health issues. Henrietta is described as cheerful, sociable, and very hard-working, having held two jobs before her disappearance.

No one has seen or heard from Henrietta since February 8, exactly a month since her disappearance. Left with unanswered questions and little to act on, those who care for the girl are dumbfounded.

"She's everything to me," her best friend Parma Pinder said. "I miss her like crazy. She wouldn't hurt anyone. She's incredibly funny, and she always makes everyone around her laugh."

Another friend, Grant Buck, added, "We're worried about her, and we just want her to come home--no questions asked."