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