Andrea Michelle Reyes age-progressed photo, Mexican girl found safe in U.S.

“No cold case is ever truly closed.” So said New Haven, Connecticut, Police Chief Karl Jacobson in crediting officers and detectives for their diligence in reinvestigating the cold case of a toddler abducted by her mother. For 25 years, officers knew Andrea Michelle Reyes only by a photo of a smiling dark-haired child in a pink-checked outfit. Reyes was about 2 years old and under custody of her father when her mother abducted her, then was suspected of fleeing to Mexico. Two years ago, Detective Kealyn Nivakoff began to reinvestigate the case. Through interviews, search warrants, and social media, she was able to connect with Reyes in the Mexican city of Puebla. Subsequently, Reyes contacted the man she believed to be her father, who had searched tirelessly for her since the 1999 abduction. Advanced DNA testing confirmed the familial relationship. An arrest warrant for the mother, Rosa Tenorio, remains valid in the United States; she is believed to be in Mexico. 

The Ansonia, Connecticut, Police Department released an age-enhanced photo of a 1-year-old girl who has been missing since December 2019 after her mother was found deceased. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) created the photo of Vanessa Morales to enlist the public in finding the missing girl. A man has pleaded not guilty after being charged with murdering Vanessa’s mother.

Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are considering adding symbols to license plates to make it easier to identify cars and find missing and abducted children. Magi Bish, the mother of 16-year-old Molly Bish, who was murdered in 2000, is championing the effort. Bish said she was unable to remember the license plate number of a suspicious car she saw near the pond where her daughter disappeared. “Molly's Bill” would change the license plates to have five characters with a symbol, which advocates say can be easily identified, even by a 2-year-old child.