Marlena Olivas and Ernesto Cabrera, parents of missing Everlyse Cabrera, discuss their daughter Wednesday at office of their attorneys. Everlyse has been missing since June. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky.

Marlena Olivas sleeps with her missing daughter's blanket pressed against her face.

Ernesto Cabrera constantly searches the crowds of people at stores and parks, looking for a glimpse of his daughter, who disappeared in June while in foster care.

The parents of Everlyse Cabrera refuse to believe the worst has happened to their little girl, who was 2 1/2 years old when she went missing. They think she's still alive somewhere, waiting to be found.

"Our lives can't go on without our knowing what happened to our daughter," Olivas said Wednesday. "We need to know."

The need to know is part of what's driving the civil lawsuit filed Tuesday against Clark County's Department of Family Services and eight staff members, the couple said. They both think that civil litigation can shake loose information that will aid the North Las Vegas police in the investigation.

The couple's attorney, Greg Mills, said he plans to depose those named in the lawsuit as soon as possible and make the information available to investigators.

"Somebody has to know something," Olivas said. "Maybe someone has her now. We just want her back. She's our precious little girl. We're her mother and father, and no one loves her more than we love her."

The other purpose of the lawsuit is hold county officials accountable for the circumstances that led to Everlyse's disappearance. Mills said that it is vital to repair the system that failed Everlyse.

Mills also said the faults cited in the civil lawsuit mirror state and federal findings about shortcomings in county Family Services. Before Everlyse disappeared, Clark County was being called upon to account for poor record-keeping within the department, infrequent home visits made by case workers to foster homes and a failure to conduct home safety assessments in cases where suspicious child deaths had occurred.

The civil lawsuit alleges that Everlyse's well-being was not monitored on a regular basis and that the department did not pursue reunification efforts with the family as required by law.

"There has to be some justice," Olivas said. "There has to be justice for Everlyse."

Police continue to work the case, even though the foster parents, Manuel and Vilma Carrascal, are no longer cooperating with them. According to the foster parents, Everlyse disappeared June 10, when she pushed a stool to the front door, opened it and walked into the night. The foster parents are both named in the lawsuit, as is their adult son Melvin Balane, who owns the home where they all lived. A second son, a teenager, also lived at the North Las Vegas residence.

The lawsuit also alleges that Everlyse was injured while in the custody of the Carrascals, and that Family Services failed to investigate the natural parents' inquiry about what had happened. The last time Olivas and Cabrera saw their daughter on May 15, she had a rectangular burn on the palm of her right hand. Cabrera said that it was purplish in color and looked blistered.

"I asked the case worker what had happened," Cabrera said. "I never got an answer."

The incident became more suspicious to Cabrera after news broke that the Carrascals had a previous foster child that was removed from their home after suffering burns. He wants someone to tell him why his daughter was placed in a home with that history.

We asked the case worker about the foster parents," Cabrera said. "We were told they came highly recommended."

The Family Services staff named in the lawsuit include: former Family Services Director Susan Klein Rothschild; Family Services administrator Nancy McLane; Family Services supervisor Amy Jaffee; and Family Services caseworkers Vera Sampson and David Cronister.

The couple's entanglement with Family Services began after the birth of their second son, Benny, 1. Both Olivas and her son tested positive for drugs when he was born.

Neither Everlyse nor the couple's infant son Joseph, born in July, tested positive for drugs at birth. Joseph and Benny remain in foster care as their parents complete the last of the requirements for regaining custody.

Cabrera is employed, and both he and Olivas are completing drug counseling. They expect to have an apartment within the next month.

"We're not going to get high again because we want our kids," Olivas said. "That's all there is to it. We're done. We're finished with all that old stuff. We're different people. We're forever changed. Our daughter's missing, and we just want our family back."

Clark County officials had not been officially served with the lawsuit by noon on Tuesday, said New Director of Family Services Tom Morton in a written statement.

"Clark County continues to cooperate with the North Las Vegas Police Department in their search for Everlyse Cabrera," Morton said. "Our thoughts are with Everlyse and her extended family."

As for Olivas, she wants the community to know that Everlyse liked noodles and hot dogs. Her favorite cartoons were "Dora the Explorer" and "SpongeBob SquarePants." Her name was suggested by her paternal grandmother who thought it was lovely and unusual.

That's all Olivas could say about her daughter before she started crying.

"It's been horrible for both of us ever since this happened," Cabrera said. "But Marlena is falling apart."