Marisa Velasco was one year old when she vanished from Norcross, Georgia, on December 17, 2005. She was a ward of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services and had been placed in foster care after the court found concerns about her biological mother, Rena Velasco, and Rena’s boyfriend, Vidal Cruz. Despite that finding, Rena had court-approved unsupervised visits and was with Marisa for a scheduled visit the day she disappeared.

That Saturday Rena told another resident at the battered-women’s shelter where she was staying that she needed medical attention and asked for a ride to a clinic. She and Marisa were dropped off at the clinic and never returned to the shelter. The next day Marisa’s foster parents arrived and found both gone. Investigators later noted the clinic was near Cruz’s apartment; officers found the apartment empty, and acquaintances said Cruz had mentioned plans to leave and return to Mexico. A felony kidnapping warrant was issued for Rena. Several age-progressed images of Marisa have been released and the investigation remains active.

If anyone knew Rena, Vidal Cruz, or has information about Marisa’s whereabouts, please share what is known with Gwinnett County authorities.