Six-year-old Yelin Matute Molina, a Hispanic girl with black hair and brown eyes, was last seen on August 26, 2024, in Lenoir, Caldwell County, when she was being enrolled in a local elementary school. After that date she did not attend classes. School officials tried to contact Yelin’s mother and received no response; a relative later said they had not seen either Yelin or her mother since August and did not know their whereabouts.

The Lenoir Police Department opened an investigation and the case was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System to widen the search. The central unanswered fact is why neither the mother nor Yelin has been reachable since late August and where they might be now.

If anyone in the Lenoir area saw Yelin on or after August 26, 2024, or has information about her or her mother’s possible location, please share what you know with the Lenoir Police Department.