A woman who was abducted in Connecticut as a toddler has been found alive 25 years later in Mexico.
Andrea Michelle Reyes was two years old when she was taken by her mother, Rosa Tenorio, in October 1999, according to a news release from the New Haven police department. Tenorio did not have legal custody of Reyes, who was in the care of her father at the time of the kidnapping, police said.
New Haven police and the FBI obtained a felony arrest warrant for Tenorio, who was suspected to have fled with her daughter to Mexico, police said. Andrea’s father traveled to Mexico several times but did not make contact with either of them.
The missing persons case went cold until 2023, when a police detective began to re-investigate Andrea’s abduction.
“Using a combination of interviews, search warrants and social media,” detective Kealyn Nivakoff determined that Reyes was residing in the Mexican city of Puebla – with a population of more than 1 million people – after her abduction by Tenorio, police said.
Advanced DNA testing confirmed the relationship between Reyes and her father, who were finally able to reconnect after more than two decades.
“Over the years, Andrea’s father searched tirelessly, but never heard from his daughter or her mother,” the DNA testing company Othram, which was involved in the case, said in a news release.
The identification of Reyes was part of an initiative to resolve more than 500 cases involving minors and contained in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, the company said.
“This case reflects the hard work of our officers and detectives,” the New Haven police chief, Karl Jacobson, said. “While cases may have investigative leads exhausted at the time, no cold case is ever truly closed.
“We remain committed to resolving every cold case, and this is a perfect example of that effort.”
Reyes, who is now 27 years old, is a resident of Mexico, Othram said. An arrest warrant for Tenorio remains active and valid within the United States, according to police, adding that they believe the kidnapping suspect is still in Mexico.
