After FBI Helped with Investigation, Missing Girl who Vanished 26 Years Ago Miraculously Found Alive

After FBI Helped with Investigation, Missing Girl who Vanished 26 Years Ago Miraculously Found Alive

  • A woman who was abducted as a toddler 26 years ago has been miraculously found safe in New Haven, Connecticut
  • Andrea Michelle Reyes, taken by her mother in October 1999, was located through social media and DNA confirmation after the cold case was reopened
  • Now 27, Andrea has been reunited with her father, thanks to advancements in forensic genetic genealogy

Connecticut, USA – A woman who was abducted as a toddler 26 years ago has miraculously been found safe.

Andrea Michelle Reyes was taken from her home when she was just 23 months old in October 1999.

After FBI Helped with Investigation, Missing Girl who Vanished 26 Years Ago Miraculously Found Alive
After FBI Helped with Investigation, Missing Girl who Vanished 26 Years Ago Miraculously Found Alive
Source: Getty Images

It was alleged her mother Rosa Tenorio, who did not have primary custody, abducted Andrea, and a felony warrant for Custodial Interference was issued for Rosa.

Despite desperate searches, there were no traces of Andrea or Rosa for years.

Reopening the cold case

The breakthrough came when police in New Haven, Connecticut, reopened the cold case.

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Andrea was found through social media, search warrants, and reviewing previous interviews. She made contact with the man she believed to be her father and agreed to submit a DNA sample, which confirmed a father/daughter relationship.

DNASolves.comreported that the comparison positively confirmed Andrea's identity as the nearly two-year-old girl kidnapped in October 1999.

Reunion and technological advancements

Andrea, now 27, is believed to have been reunited with her father. This case is the seventh to be publicly identified in Connecticut through technology developed by Othram, a forensic genetic genealogy company.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System placed both Andrea and Rosa in Pueblo near Mexico City at the time.

Despite several unsuccessful searches by Andrea's father and other family members in Mexico, the investigation gained momentum with the help of the FBI and multiple age-progressed images of Andrea.

Andrea Michelle Reyes was snatched in 1999 when she was a toddler
Andrea Michelle Reyes was snatched in 1999 when she was a toddler. Photo credit: DNA Solves
Source: Getty Images

Missing child cases

Missing child cases are a global concern, with thousands of children reported missing each year. In the United States, an estimated 460,000 children are reported missing annually.

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Other countries also face significant numbers, such as Germany with 100,000 missing children per year, and India with 96,000. The reasons for these disappearances vary, including parental abductions, human trafficking, and voluntary runaways.

Efforts to address this issue include international cooperation, advanced technology like forensic genetic genealogy, and public awareness campaigns.

Man searches for his step brother

Legit.ng earlier reported that a Nigerian man has said his family is looking for a child born to them in 1999, but whose whereabouts they don't know. The man, Olusegun Adewole Samson Ifeanyichukwu, told Legit.ng that they had never seen the child who is supposed to be his step brother.

Olusegun made a post on X, noting that the family did not know if the child was dead or still alive. He said the only clue they have to his existence is a copy of his birth certificate, which is in their possession.

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Apparently, the child is from another mother, and Olusegun said the family wants to locate him. The child was named Adewole Michael Ibukunoluwa Onyekachukwu.

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Basit Jamiu avatar

Basit Jamiu (Current Affairs and Politics Editor) Basit Jamiu is a journalist with more than five years of experience. He is a current affairs and politics editor at Legit.ng. He holds a bachelor's degree from Ekiti State University (2018). Basit previously worked as a staff writer at Ikeja Bird (2022), Associate Editor at Prime Progress (2022), and Staff Writer at The Movee (2018). He is a 2024 Open Climate Fellow (West Africa), 2023 MTN Media Fellow, OCRP Fellow at ICIR, and Accountability Fellow at CJID. Email: basit.jamiu@corp.legit.ng.