Zayla Akyleen Christmas, a Black female juvenile from Albemarle, Virginia, was entered into the Virginia Missing Children’s Clearinghouse as missing on January 18, 2024, under case number USVAVA24-0262. Records list her age at disappearance as 16, though some information identifies her as 17.

Zayla’s 2024 disappearance occurs against a documented history of earlier missing-person incidents in Albemarle County. In May 2022, when she was 13, police sought help locating her; she was described then as about 4 feet 11 inches, 115 pounds, with brown eyes and last seen in black clothing, and was located and reported safe on June 7, 2022. A second episode in July 2022 involved Zayla and her younger sister, Beautiful Christmas, later reclassified as a runaway after an out-of-state family member provided information that they were safe.

If anyone in Albemarle or nearby communities has information about Zayla’s whereabouts or what led to her being reported missing in January 2024, please come forward.