Sofia Juarez was almost five years old when she disappeared from her Kennewick, Washington, home on the evening of February 4, 2003. Between 8:00 PM and 9:15 PM she vanished after asking her mother for a dollar to go to a nearby store; the mother thought Sofia would accompany her grandmother’s boyfriend, who left without realizing Sofia intended to follow him. When he returned about 9:15 PM Sofia was not with him and the family immediately searched and called police.

Sofia was last seen wearing blue overalls, a red shirt, violet socks, and white shoes. Her disappearance prompted Washington’s first AMBER Alert and prompted an extensive investigation by the Kennewick Police Department with FBI assistance. Investigators pursued hundreds of leads, checked more than 150 registered sex offenders, and followed reported sightings over the years without success. In 2021 police disclosed a witness account saying a Hispanic juvenile male, then about 11 to 14, was seen leading a crying girl toward a light-colored older van the night Sofia vanished. A viral social-media tip later proved not to be Sofia by DNA testing.

The case file now exceeds 20,000 pages and remains open. Did anyone in Kennewick in February 2003 see a light-colored older van or a young boy walking with a little girl that evening?