Child kidnapped from Connecticut in 1999 discovered alive in Mexico
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) – A woman who was abducted as a child from Connecticut in 1999 has been found alive in Mexico.
Officials said Andrea Michelle Reyes, now 27, was abducted from her father in New Haven in October 1999 when she was just 23 months old.
Police said she was abducted from her home by Rosa Tenorio, her non-custodial parent.
The New Haven Police Department announced Tuesday that Reyes has been found alive in Mexico.
Over the years, Reyes’ father never stopped searching for her, and her missing person case was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
The New Haven Police Department investigated the kidnapping, along with other agencies.
But in 2023, a breakthrough happened – Reyes ed her father, which prompted officials to investigate further.
The department teamed up with Othram, a forensic laboratory in Texas that specializes in using “cutting-edge” forensic techniques to find answers for unsolved murders and disappearances.
The woman claiming to be Reyes provided a DNA sample, which was compared to her father’s DNA profile. Othram said the DNA match confirmed that the woman who was, in fact, the girl who was kidnapped in 1999.
Investigators have now said they believe Reyes was taken to the city of Puebla, Mexico, where she has lived for the past 25 years.
Kristen Mittelman, chief development officer for Othram, said she is happy to have helped solve this case.
“Whether it is unidentified human remains, the identity of a suspect in a crime or, like in this case, confirming the identity of a woman who has been missing for decades, we do the same thing every day – we find answers for families,” Mittelman said.
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