1-Year-Old Connecticut Girl Missing from Home Where Her Mother Was Found Dead
A toddler in Connecticut was discovered missing the same day her mother was found dead in a probable homicide in their home.
One-year-old Vanessa Morales was nowhere to be found when police arrived at her house in Ansonia, Connecticut, after someone called to request a welfare check on Monday — but her mother, who remains unnamed, was discovered dead, NBC Connecticut reported.
“This is a two part investigation. First is a homicide investigation, the second is a missing child investigation. We have enlarged all of our resources to investigate this case. Our main focus at the moment is finding Venessa Morales and making sure she is safe,” Ansonia Police Chief Andrew Cota said, reports WFSB.
Ansonia police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Tuesday.
The welfare check that revealed the 1-year-old missing was the second visit police had paid to the home on Monday, the outlet reported.
Officers first arrived at the house around 1 p.m. after a welfare check was requested because Vanessa’s mother did not show up for work, nor did she call in sick or seemingly tell anyone where she was. No one answered at the house, however, and the officers left.
But by Monday evening, family members grew concerned and requested a second welfare check. When officers returned around 7:30 p.m., they found evidence of a forced entry to the home, and Vanessa’s mother dead on the premises.
Vanessa, meanwhile, was gone without a trace.
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The toddler was last seen by family members on Friday, police said, according to NBC Connecticut. Vanessa is described as having brown hair and brown eyes, stands 2′ 2″ tall and weighs 17 pounds, local station WFSB reported.
Vanessa’s father, who does not live with them at the house, is cooperating with police in the investigation, and a suspect has not yet been named, according to the outlet.
Ansonia police are working in tandem with state police and the FBI, but authorities currently have very little to go on, as it is unknown what Vanessa was last wearing or where she might have been taken.
“It’s extremely important based on the conditions that if anyone is outside that we get them inside but it’s more important in this case because we don’t know where she is at all,” said Ansonia police Lt. Patrick Lynch to the outlet.
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“We don’t know if she’s outside or inside, if she’s safe with someone. We just want to locate her and make sure that she’s safe and we can get her back home to family.”
A Silver Alert has been issued amidst the investigation, but police said that if all of their current leads are exhausted, then they will likely issue an Amber Alert, according to NBC Connecticut.
Anyone with information about Vanessa is encouraged to call the Ansonia police at (203) 735-1885.
