Olusegun Ariyo
Police in Connecticut, United States of America, have located a girl — now a woman — who went missing 25 years ago, when she was just 2 years old.
Fox News reports that Andrea Reyes, 27, was abducted in October 1999 by her non-custodial, biological mother, Rosa Tenorio, who then brought her to Mexico.
Mexican authorities had identified Reyes and her mother in 2000, but it was advised that the Government of Mexico would not take further action to remove Andrea from her mother.
However, Andrea contacted the man she believed to be her father in 2023 when Det. Kealyn Nivakoff with the New Haven Police Department began to re-investigate the case.
To confirm her identity, New Haven police partnered with forensic genetic genealogy research company Othram, which ultimately confirmed a father-daughter relationship between Andrea and her father.
“Thank you for sharing in our joy in finding our daughter Andrea. After 25 years, God has answered our prayers and blessed us with a chance to know her again.
“We recognize that this reacquaintance will have challenges, however, we are confident that God is building the path before us and leading our steps,” Andrea’s stepmother said in an emotional statement.
Police said during the press conference that Andrea’s father went on several trips to Mexico himself over the years to find his daughter.
Andrea’s father and stepmother thanked law enforcement and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, NCMEC.
According to NCMEC, family abductions are said to be the second-most common type of child abduction in the United States.
