US Girl Abducted in 1999 Found Alive in Mexico

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Andrea Michelle Reyes, who was kidnapped as a toddler by her non-custodial mother in 1999, has been found alive in Puebla, Mexico, according to authorities. Reyes, now 27, was just 23 months old when her mother, Rosa Tenorio, abducted her from their home in New Haven, Connecticut.

The breakthrough in the case came after DNA testing verified Reyes' identity through a comparison with her father's DNA, facilitated by the forensic genealogy company Othram. Despite ongoing searches by her family, they were unable to locate Reyes, although her father made several trips to Mexico in hopes of finding her.

An arrest warrant for Tenorio for custodial interference has been issued, and another warrant from 2009 is also pending, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The New Haven Police Department noted that an FBI investigation had initially stalled but was revisited in 2023. Detective Kealyn Nivakoff tracked Reyes down after she contacted a man she believed to be her father, successfully confirming her identity through age progression photographs.

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