1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,780 The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. 2 00:00:13,780 --> 00:00:18,400 All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 3 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160 Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages. 4 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560 Listener discretion is advised. 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,280 I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski. 6 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680 And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski. 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,360 And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases. 8 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:37,280 Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing. 9 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:41,440 I'm your host, Ali, and it will just be me coming to you this week. 10 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:47,440 Eli has some exciting audition opportunities, so he has to spend a lot of his free time 11 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,160 focusing on some of his other work this week. 12 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:55,440 But he will join us again in the future, I'm sure. 13 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:59,800 But I wanted to get back on the podcast, get back into covering cases. 14 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:01,040 We were off last week. 15 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:06,840 It was Thanksgiving here in the U.S. of A. So we took the week off, had a lot of really 16 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:11,800 great family moments, just got to do like the whole Thanksgiving thing. 17 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:17,400 So I really appreciate everyone for granting us the week off, the week vacation. 18 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,040 But here I am ready to bring you a new case. 19 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:22,600 So let's just go ahead and get into it. 20 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,840 This is episode 111. 21 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:31,280 And just as a bit of a content warning at the top, this case does involve a young person. 22 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:36,380 Today we are talking about the missing person case of Sofia Juarez. 23 00:01:36,380 --> 00:01:42,080 And this takes place in February of 2003 in Kennewick, Washington. 24 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,560 But first, a little bit about Sofia. 25 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:51,120 Sofia is a vivacious and spunky four-year-old, but she is on the cusp of turning five. 26 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:54,880 She loves to put on makeup and play with her Barbie dolls. 27 00:01:54,880 --> 00:02:00,040 She often begs to go to Burger King for her favorite food, a hamburger. 28 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,160 Sofia is her mother's only child. 29 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:09,080 Maria, Sofia's mom, had Sofia young and at this time in 2003, Sofia's mom is only 30 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:11,520 20 years old. 31 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:16,840 Sofia and Maria live with Sofia's grandmother and with her boyfriend, who acted like a grandpa 32 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,820 to Sofia, along with Sofia's uncles. 33 00:02:20,820 --> 00:02:25,520 But some of her uncles were young enough to be more like her brother or friend. 34 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:31,480 The entire family lived in a cozy home on the 100 block of East 15th Avenue. 35 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,200 The neighborhood is quiet and safe. 36 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,640 Kids walk to school and will leave toys out in the front lawn overnight so that way they're 37 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:41,280 ready to play with in the morning. 38 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,240 Sofia is Hispanic. 39 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:49,080 At this time in 2003, she is about three feet tall, weighs 33 pounds, has black hair and 40 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:50,460 brown eyes. 41 00:02:50,460 --> 00:02:54,800 She was also missing her top four front teeth. 42 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,480 And now, a timeline of events. 43 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:02,680 On Tuesday, February 4th, 2003. 44 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,280 It is the night before Sofia's fifth birthday. 45 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:10,640 At about 7.45 p.m., she's playing with her uncle. 46 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:16,800 Her uncle is 10 years old, so like I mentioned earlier, he was more like a brother or a friend. 47 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,760 The two are hanging out watching TV in Sofia's room. 48 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:26,520 Sofia is wearing blue overalls, a red long sleeve shirt, violet socks and white Converse 49 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:27,940 shoes. 50 00:03:27,940 --> 00:03:30,920 She also had in small gold hoop earrings. 51 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:36,180 Jose, her grandmother's boyfriend, who acted like a grandpa to her, was going to fill up 52 00:03:36,180 --> 00:03:41,120 his car with gas and then head to the Red Apple Market to get some milk. 53 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,520 When Sofia heard, she begged her mom to go with. 54 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,880 It was normal for Jose to take the kids with him to the store, and Sofia was especially 55 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,840 good at talking him into buying her some candy. 56 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:56,160 Maria gives Sofia permission to go with Jose and even gives her a dollar to buy a piece 57 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:57,160 of candy. 58 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:00,920 Jose leaves the house around 8 p.m. 59 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:06,960 Jose stops to get gas, attempted to call family in Mexico from a payphone, and then went to 60 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,600 the Red Apple Market to buy milk. 61 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,760 While Jose is at the store, Sofia's grandmother comes back from running errands and picking 62 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,120 up her other kids, and she asks where Sofia is. 63 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,320 Maria tells her that she went to the store with Jose. 64 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:24,920 Jose returns to the family home around 9 p.m. with a gallon of milk. 65 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:30,280 When Maria asks where Sofia is, he said she never got in the car with him. 66 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:34,560 He had no idea Sofia was supposed to be going with him to the store, so he left without 67 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:35,560 her. 68 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:40,120 The family begins searching the home for the little girl, searching in any spot where she 69 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:41,120 would fit. 70 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:46,840 But after 20 minutes with no sign of the girl, no matter how many times they called her name, 71 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:52,460 the family decides at 920 to call police and report her missing. 72 00:04:52,460 --> 00:04:57,240 Police responding to the scene take her disappearance seriously from the beginning. 73 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:02,980 They take Jose down to the police station for questioning, and he goes without complaint. 74 00:05:02,980 --> 00:05:06,920 Police left at the family home begin searching for the little girl, both around the house 75 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,020 and around the neighborhood. 76 00:05:09,020 --> 00:05:12,200 Police bring in bloodhounds who were able to pick up a scent. 77 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:16,800 The dog handler says, quote, We weren't able to find anything, but both dogs were 78 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:21,040 able to tell where the trail apparently ended, end quote. 79 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:26,000 The spot where the trail ended was along a fence some distance from Sofia's home. 80 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,920 Police search through the night, but as dawn approaches in the early morning hours of Wednesday, 81 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:36,240 February 5th, which should have been Sofia's fifth birthday, police regroup to come up 82 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,040 with a plan. 83 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:42,720 Police decided that they'll issue the first amber alert for the state of Washington. 84 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:48,340 At 830 a.m., police send out an amber alert, which was a brand new system in the state 85 00:05:48,340 --> 00:05:50,920 of Washington at the time. 86 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,880 Sofia's case is the first time it's used. 87 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,540 Unfortunately, there were issues in the system that had not yet been worked out. 88 00:05:58,540 --> 00:06:03,960 The code that was sent to radio and television stations was the code used for floods, earthquakes, 89 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,840 and other natural emergencies. 90 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:11,480 No one who received the alert really knew what was going on, and the news about Sofia 91 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,480 was slow to get out to the media. 92 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:19,080 Other officers are trying to track down Sofia's biological father. 93 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:24,360 He had never been in her life and told Maria when she found out she was pregnant with Sofia 94 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,520 that he didn't want her to go through with the pregnancy. 95 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:31,220 He threatened to hurt her if she kept the baby. 96 00:06:31,220 --> 00:06:37,460 Police are eventually able to locate him, and after some questioning and investigating, 97 00:06:37,460 --> 00:06:39,880 they are able to rule him out. 98 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:44,180 Night falls on Sofia's fifth birthday without any sign of her. 99 00:06:44,180 --> 00:06:49,320 Police are checking every nook and cranny that Sofia could squeeze into, but still nothing. 100 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:52,980 The temperatures drop to the mid-20s at nightfall. 101 00:06:52,980 --> 00:06:58,720 Police officially suspend the search for volunteers with a plan to start at 7 a.m. the next morning. 102 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:03,120 Despite the search being suspended, several officers stay out looking through the night, 103 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:07,680 and more local, state, and national police agencies are called in to help look for the 104 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:09,480 little girl. 105 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:14,900 In the second day of Sofia missing, Thursday, February 6th, the search resumes early the 106 00:07:14,900 --> 00:07:16,560 next morning. 107 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:21,120 One of the searchers, Jody Norman, says, quote, we've looked everywhere. 108 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:26,200 We've searched over fences, every backyard, garbage cans, crawl spaces, but we need to 109 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,800 find her, to get her home. 110 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:29,800 End quote. 111 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:35,360 During the day, police do collect something as evidence that was found under a bush near 112 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:40,560 the elementary school, but police stress that they don't have anything of importance. 113 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:46,540 However, as the day wears on, the search is scaled back in the area surrounding the home. 114 00:07:46,540 --> 00:07:51,240 On Friday, February 7th, Sofia has been missing since Tuesday night. 115 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,680 Sofia's family make an emotional plea for her safe return. 116 00:07:55,680 --> 00:08:00,880 Her mother, Maria, says, quote, I beg you please to return Sofia to her family. 117 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:02,160 We really miss her. 118 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,960 Whoever has my daughter, please return her to her mother. 119 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:06,960 End quote. 120 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,600 Sofia's 10-year-old uncle tries to speak to the crowd. 121 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:16,440 He only got out the words, quote, we're missing, before breaking down into sobs. 122 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:21,720 Police still have no suspects in her disappearance, but they have rolled out her family. 123 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:25,920 They say, quote, we are here in support of the family and to help support them through 124 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:31,600 this very, very difficult time, this nightmare for any mother and any family. 125 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:36,160 No one in this family is suspected of any wrongdoing or doing anything wrong at all 126 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:38,560 in relation to this missing child. 127 00:08:38,560 --> 00:08:39,560 End quote. 128 00:08:39,560 --> 00:08:44,640 It should be noted here that Jose is also cleared by police and is included as part 129 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:47,520 of the family in this statement by police. 130 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,760 Police begin refocusing their attention on running down all of the tips that have come 131 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,880 in, now that her family has been rolled out as suspects. 132 00:08:55,880 --> 00:09:00,560 Police set up a special phone line for tips that will be manned 24 hours a day. 133 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:05,720 On Monday, February 10th, it's approaching one week that Sofia has been missing. 134 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:09,640 Police announced that they're looking for the driver of a van that was seen at Washington 135 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:14,400 Street and 14th Avenue around the time that Sofia disappeared. 136 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:19,360 The van is described as a light blue or silver mid 80s model. 137 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:23,600 The van was a panel van with no windows along the body. 138 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:28,440 Police say that they just want to talk to the driver, quote, it may or may not be connected. 139 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,960 Any help in locating the vehicle will be appreciated. 140 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:33,200 End quote. 141 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:38,800 On Tuesday, February 11th, Sofia has been missing for one week now and police re-interviewed 142 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:42,700 her uncle, who again is 10 years old. 143 00:09:42,700 --> 00:09:48,240 And this time he says that he saw Sofia walking down the driveway from the home with a man 144 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:53,120 wearing a black sweatshirt with a hood, black pants and black shoes. 145 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,640 He hadn't told police initially because he had been afraid. 146 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:01,520 On Thursday, February 13th, Sofia has been missing for nine days. 147 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:05,880 Police go back to Sofia's neighborhood and go door to door and ask their neighbors to 148 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:07,700 look again. 149 00:10:07,700 --> 00:10:11,800 Police are really going over areas that they've already searched, just looking for any sign 150 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,440 of Sofia that could have been missed. 151 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:20,040 But at the end of the day, police are frustrated to report that there's still no sign of her. 152 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:24,920 Police begin searching the Columbia River and they spend the next several days dragging 153 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,840 the river and bringing in dive teams looking for any trace of the little girl. 154 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,520 But again, nothing is found. 155 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:37,720 In mid March of 2003, so Sofia has been missing for five weeks, Sofia's mom and grandmother 156 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:43,080 plan to travel to Mexico to see if anyone there has information about Sofia. 157 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:48,720 Police doubt that Sofia is there saying, quote, we don't have anything to suggest that Sofia 158 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,200 is in Mexico, end quote. 159 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:55,120 In mid May, Sofia has been missing for three months. 160 00:10:55,120 --> 00:11:00,320 Police say that they have new information that an orange van driven by a bearded man 161 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:04,400 was seen in the neighborhood about the time Sofia vanished. 162 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:08,160 Police are looking for the driver and the owner of the van. 163 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:14,320 This van is described as a mid 1990s full size van that was faded orange and had no 164 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:16,360 side windows. 165 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,840 The van had a Washington license plate that included the letters JJ. 166 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:27,160 The man is described to be about 35 to 40 years old with a thick blonde beard. 167 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:32,440 In August of 2003, Sofia has been missing for six months. 168 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:36,640 Sofia's mother Maria sits down with the local paper and says that she believes that 169 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:43,960 Sofia's disappearance is connected to a family member in Mexico, not a stranger or a neighbor. 170 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:48,560 Maria believes that Sofia is alive and well, but living in Mexico, which is why her and 171 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:51,800 her mother want to travel there to look for her. 172 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,800 Police are still hesitant to call Sofia's case an abduction since they don't have any 173 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:58,600 evidence of a crime taking place. 174 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:04,920 But by February of 2004, at the one year mark, police say that they are treating the disappearance 175 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:11,840 as an abduction by a stranger, but they still have no real idea of what happened to Sofia. 176 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:13,760 Her family misses her deeply. 177 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,240 Her mother Maria says, quote, every day is hard. 178 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,120 It's just not the same. 179 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,240 She put a glow in the house. 180 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,600 We don't know who took her or why. 181 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:26,160 We know in our hearts that she is out there. 182 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:27,240 End quote. 183 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:32,720 In July of 2005, Sofia has been missing for two and a half years. 184 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:37,440 Police serve a search warrant at a rundown farm. 185 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:41,360 Volunteers bring in ground penetrating radar to go over the grounds to see if there's 186 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:44,840 any disturbances that could suggest a body. 187 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,240 Police take days searching the property. 188 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:51,000 They bring in a backhoe to search any suspect spots. 189 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,440 Police believe that she could be buried at the property. 190 00:12:54,440 --> 00:13:00,320 Ultimately, after days of searching, no human remains are found at the farm and no sign 191 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:02,560 of Sofia is found there. 192 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:07,500 During the course of Sofia's investigation, police often get the tip that Sofia is buried 193 00:13:07,500 --> 00:13:12,560 in Jump Off Joe Butte on the Horse Heaven Hills. 194 00:13:12,560 --> 00:13:17,980 The story being that she was hit by a driver who panicked and thought Sofia was dead. 195 00:13:17,980 --> 00:13:22,800 The driver takes her body and when she later begins to wake up, he panics and then actually 196 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:23,800 kills her. 197 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:28,480 He then buries her body off of Jump Off Joe Butte. 198 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:34,040 In fact, the search of the farm is related to a tip about this urban legend, but police 199 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:40,240 have never been able to find any connection to Sofia and these multiple stories about 200 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:42,460 Jump Off Joe Butte. 201 00:13:42,460 --> 00:13:47,800 In January of 2009, it's been almost three years that Sofia has been missing and her 202 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,200 mother Maria passes away. 203 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:55,640 Maria was only 26 years old when she passed and the family decides to spread her ashes 204 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:58,240 where Sofia was last seen. 205 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:04,920 In May of 2021, so Sofia has been missing for over 18 years. 206 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:07,520 Please give us some new information. 207 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:13,120 The following comes from the police website directly about a witness back in 2003. 208 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:19,200 It says, the witness observed the person described in detail below approaching the young female 209 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:25,240 and lead her way towards a van that was occupied and stopped at the next side street. 210 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:28,160 Sofia cried as the person left. 211 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:32,400 The adult witness reported the incident to police the next day, immediately after seeing 212 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:35,920 media accounts of Sofia's disappearance. 213 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:41,320 After viewing a photograph of Sofia, the witness confirmed the young female was Sofia. 214 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:45,400 Police determined the witness to be highly credible. 215 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:50,480 Police kept the suspect description confidential at the time due to active investigations being 216 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,160 conducted on people of interest. 217 00:14:53,160 --> 00:15:00,840 A description of the van was released at the time resulting in 24 tips reported to police. 218 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:05,280 Police currently believe the van and its occupants may be associated with the suspect who led 219 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,600 Sofia away. 220 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:13,320 Police obviously have a high degree of interest in the suspect and the suspect van. 221 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:17,840 Anybody who has information on a person and van seen in the area of South Washington Street 222 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:25,240 near East 15th Avenue between 8pm and 915pm on February 4th, 2003 is asked to contact 223 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:26,760 the police. 224 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,400 Police are also seeking information from the public on anybody who may have operated a 225 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:35,560 similar type of van and either lived nearby, would have passed through the area at that 226 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:40,760 time or driven by as any part of the regular route or routine. 227 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:44,600 Police are interested in any information people may have regardless of how minimal it may 228 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:46,100 be. 229 00:15:46,100 --> 00:15:50,200 Somebody out there knows what happened to Sofia or at least have suspicions about someone 230 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:52,040 that may have been involved. 231 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:57,480 Now is the time to come forward and help bring answer to Sofia's family and our community. 232 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:01,640 The suspect description as provided by the witness is as follows. 233 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:07,100 A Hispanic juvenile male estimated to be 11 to 14 years old at the time. 234 00:16:07,100 --> 00:16:13,400 At the time of occurrence described as being light complexioned about 5 foot or 5'2", 235 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:18,600 believed to be chubby based primarily upon facial features, having a baby face with a 236 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,120 possible mark on a cheek. 237 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:26,520 Dark short wavy hair that was about 1.5 inches long that appeared greased that lay flat with 238 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:31,640 bangs and possibly having big hands for a person his age. 239 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:36,120 The suspect vehicle is light blue or silver or gray. 240 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:43,000 Older 1970s to early 1980s type full bodied panel van with no visible side windows. 241 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,640 Had appearances of possibly being a work type of van. 242 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,160 The type that contractors or painters may have used. 243 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,440 This is not to imply that it would have been a contractor or painter's van. 244 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:57,480 So that is all from the police website directly. 245 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:03,540 In addition in 2021 a TikTok video surfaces of a woman that bears a striking resemblance 246 00:17:03,540 --> 00:17:08,580 to Sophia's age progress photo and she says that she's a kidnap victim. 247 00:17:08,580 --> 00:17:13,280 Police do track her down and get her DNA but ultimately she's ruled out that she is not 248 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:14,560 Sophia. 249 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:19,640 And then the last update I could find came in November of 2024. 250 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:24,200 And really the update was just that there are no new updates. 251 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:28,840 Police work every tip that comes in especially since they released that new information in 252 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:32,920 2021 but none of those have led to Sophia. 253 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:38,240 And that is all we know about the missing person case of Sophia Juarez. 254 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:44,440 So if you know anything about the disappearance of Sophia Juarez or her whereabouts today 255 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:53,160 please call special investigator Al Wenner at 509-582-1331. 256 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:57,440 Or if you want to leave a tip online you can do that with a link that will be in our show 257 00:17:57,440 --> 00:17:59,100 notes. 258 00:17:59,100 --> 00:18:03,640 So that is the case of Sophia Juarez. 259 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:09,920 And this case is one that I saw kind of floating around my social media in 2021. 260 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:15,840 You know I had mentioned right there at the end of the timeline about that TikTok that 261 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:18,840 got a lot of news and a lot of traction on social media. 262 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:22,880 That's what I really saw happening and that's when I first really learned about Sophia's 263 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:24,300 case. 264 00:18:24,300 --> 00:18:29,400 It does seem like Sophia's case at the time did get some national coverage and national 265 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:33,120 attention but it was covered very heavily locally. 266 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:38,960 So it did get to like America's Most Wanted and get some coverage on like big daytime 267 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:40,340 talk shows. 268 00:18:40,340 --> 00:18:43,800 But extensively it was covered in the Washington area. 269 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,560 And it was just a case that I did not know a lot about so it was something that I really 270 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,320 wanted to dig into. 271 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:54,440 And overwhelmingly what I feel in this case is just tragedy. 272 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:59,480 Like when I think about the events leading up to her going missing like the timing of 273 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:06,940 everything it just seems like so deeply unfortunate that you know the night before her fifth birthday 274 00:19:06,940 --> 00:19:11,880 she hears an adult going to the store wants to go along wants to go for a ride an adventure 275 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:14,460 get a little piece of candy. 276 00:19:14,460 --> 00:19:20,840 And so she asks but like the adult going to the store didn't know like to wait up that 277 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:26,400 she wanted to come along that you know you should wait for her to get in the car so leaves. 278 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:31,920 And then it seems like based off of everything I read that Sophia gets you know money from 279 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:37,380 her mom and permission to go and then kind of runs out the door to what everybody assumes 280 00:19:37,380 --> 00:19:43,760 is the car to go to the store but then she's just kind of out at the driveway and you know 281 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:49,240 my heart breaks just like wondering what her next steps were which brings in a lot of the 282 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,320 questions in this case. 283 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:58,880 So her uncle does mention back in 2003 he does say it like about a week later but he 284 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:04,440 says he sees somebody like leading her down the driveway dressed in all black. 285 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:10,400 And that was only really mentioned like one time kind of briefly but then in 2021 we get 286 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:17,360 this other witness description of seeing Sophia being led away kind of by what her uncle said 287 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:22,840 like you know somebody leading her way she's crying and this other person is laughing. 288 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:28,920 And this witness police felt was very credible you know that just like makes me really question 289 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:33,800 like was was something always planned for this evening and this was just like a moment 290 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:38,120 of opportunity you know because it sounded like there was a van waiting with somebody 291 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:46,280 else in the van that this young adolescent 11 to 14 is how he's described leads Sophia 292 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:52,860 to there so like was this all planned to take place that night or was this just like a crime 293 00:20:52,860 --> 00:20:58,840 of opportunity and like just you know these people were driving around like looking for 294 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:04,680 something it just it brings up so many questions for me about like how could this have happened 295 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:14,120 like was this some plan or just some opportunity that was taken like how did this happen because 296 00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:20,680 this should have just been like a simple mistake of like oh he left without Sophia so she goes 297 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:26,040 back inside disappointed she didn't get to go to the store but you know also like it 298 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:30,760 should not have ended this way with her going missing so how did this get here it just it 299 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:39,240 really boggles my mind in this case and also just the snafu with the amber alert you know 300 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:44,840 Sophia's case being the first amber alert ever issued in Washington so the system had 301 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:49,800 some issues and the notice didn't go out as like a missing child it went out as like a 302 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:56,680 natural disaster but because of that delay you know there was delay getting Sophia's 303 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:00,400 story out there which kind of delayed this witness this witness didn't know that they 304 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:07,040 had seen anything of like utmost importance until the next day when they see that the 305 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:13,280 girl they saw went missing so it's like if they had gotten that information sooner from 306 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:20,520 the witness could anything have changed would anything have changed like it just makes you 307 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:30,360 wonder and why not give the description at the time you know in 2021 giving the description 308 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:39,200 of the person seen leading Sophia away like that person was described between 11 and 14 309 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:47,320 so today they would be in their 30s likely you know their mid-30s so it just makes me 310 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:53,000 wonder if you know we got the description of the van early in 2003 but if we had maybe 311 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:58,860 gotten that description of the suspect as well if more information could have come forward 312 00:22:58,860 --> 00:23:03,760 at that time it sounds like they did get some tips surrounding the vans but you know if 313 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:10,200 they're still searching for whoever owned one in 2021 like I don't think they've ever 314 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:15,400 pinpointed exactly who was driving the van that night that Sophia disappeared and then 315 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:21,280 there was also the orange van that they briefly brought up a few months after her disappearance 316 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:27,200 and the man with the blonde beard if I could get answers to whatever I wanted I would just 317 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:31,680 want to know what happened with that was that ultimately ruled out yeah I would just be 318 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:37,600 really curious about the orange van that was mentioned because we have the blue silver 319 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:46,080 or gray van the mid 70s panel van but then there was also that faded orange one mentioned 320 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:50,880 so I would just be curious what ended up happening there it was also so heartbreaking to learn 321 00:23:50,880 --> 00:24:02,080 that Sophia's mom Maria also died very young and never got answers which is like heartbreaking 322 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:06,680 you know the family deciding to spread her ashes and like the spot that Sophia was last 323 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:13,060 seen like how deeply she must have missed her daughter I can't even begin to imagine 324 00:24:13,060 --> 00:24:18,800 how deeply she must have missed her every single day but you know Sophia's uncles were 325 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:24,560 young at the time in 2003 so they're still around they're still looking for answers in 326 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:29,940 this case and I really hope that we're able to get answers for her family in what happened 327 00:24:29,940 --> 00:24:34,640 her and that she's able to come home one way or the other that she's able to come home 328 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:41,920 and her family will know where she is of course we always want to see the miracle happen and 329 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:49,760 for her to come home you know alive and well but if that can't happen then having the answers 330 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:55,040 of what happened to this little girl and somebody answering for what happened to this little 331 00:24:55,040 --> 00:25:02,400 girl we should have those answers the family deserves those answers the community deserves 332 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:08,760 those answers and Sophia deserves those answers so I do hope we're able to get that and you 333 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:13,740 know this case is worked a lot and I think police are going to keep at it investigators 334 00:25:13,740 --> 00:25:18,920 are going to keep at it the fact that I saw you know the police website updated as of 335 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:23,880 November 2024 even though it wasn't anything new it just like kind of shows that they're 336 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:29,680 thinking about it and working on it behind the scenes so I am hopeful that eventually 337 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:36,680 we'll see something in this case and get some answers but again if you know anything about 338 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:42,200 the disappearance of Sophia Juarez or her whereabouts today please call the special 339 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:51,760 investigator Al Wenner at 509-582-1331 and we'll also have a link to where you can leave 340 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:57,680 a tip online as well in our show notes on our Instagram at cold and missing we're going 341 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:02,960 to have pictures of Sophia as well as an age progress photo her age progress photo is her 342 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:07,720 at 17 but in February of this year we're going to be coming up on like a big anniversary 343 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:14,320 of Sophia being missing so I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some new age progressions of her 344 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:19,760 coming in the next few months since we haven't gotten any since 2015 but we will have what 345 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:24,480 is available on our Instagram at cold and missing and please if you're not following 346 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:29,200 us there we've been getting lots of followers so thank you everybody for joining us we try 347 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:35,720 to post active missing person cases happening in real time just informational flyers in 348 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:41,040 our stories try to keep up to date and if there's ever any reason that we need to take 349 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,840 a break from the podcast or we won't be able to get an episode out we always update the 350 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:49,760 Instagram to let you know what's happening thank you so much to everyone who's rated 351 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:54,620 and reviewed we've had so many people reach out and like let us know that they're loving 352 00:26:54,620 --> 00:26:58,320 the podcast that they're rating it that they're reviewing it we're seeing that all come in 353 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:04,880 so thank you thank you thank you so much it is overwhelming the positivity and it's like 354 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:09,880 the kindness but thank you so much for being here for listening for telling your friends 355 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:15,560 family whoever about the podcast like that that's worth its weight in gold so thank you 356 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:21,240 so much for doing that I really appreciate it as the creator of the podcast but also 357 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:26,760 for all these stories that we're telling like all these cases more people should know about 358 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:34,600 them so thank you for doing that advocacy work and then on our website www.coldandmissing.com 359 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:40,040 we have all our episodes you can rate review us there as well and if you need transcripts 360 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,520 because you or someone you love is hard of hearing you can find all our transcripts on 361 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:49,280 our website as well but thank you again so much for listening to cold and missing I'm 362 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:56,800 your host Ali have a good week and stay safe y'all.