A Viral TikTok Might Be The Link To Finding Sofia Juarez Who Was Kidnapped In 2003
Since 2003 the case of Sofia Juarez has haunted the family, investigators, and community supporters who looked for her. That year the 4-year-old was living in Kennewick, Washington, when she disappeared. Her case drew attention as it became the first case in the state of Washington to use the Amber alert system.
While the circumstances of Juarez’s kidnapping have primarily gone overlooked in the face of missing white woman syndrome, her case is regaining attention thanks in part to TikTok.
A TikTok post shared in March has drawn new attention to the case of Sofia Juarez after a woman claimed to have been a kidnapping victim.
Filmed in CuliacĂĄn, Mexico, the video captured attention due to the woman’s revelation that she was 22 and incapable of enjoying her birthdays. “The truth is, I don’t like having birthdays,” she explained in Spanish during an interview with a social media personality from Mexico. She went onto explain that she hopes her family would one day come and find her.
“I want to tell them to come for me because I’m here, kidnapped,” she explained.
Soon enough, the video drew attention from viewers on TikTok.
Convinced the woman in the video is Sofia Juarez, tipsters have quickly contacted the Kennewick Police Department in Washington State. Ever since, authorities in Washington have been working to find and contact the woman in the video, hopeful that a DNA test will help them determine who she is.
Speaking about the case with People magazine, Special Investigator Al Wehner explained, “We need to try to pursue it to its reasonable conclusion to find out whether that’s Sofia or not.”
For now, the Juarez family has told police they are not convinced the woman in the video is their Sofia.
“Meanwhile, the Kennewick Police Department released a description of a possible suspect,” People reports. “A Hispanic boy between the ages of 11 and 14 who allegedly approached a girl matching Sofia‘s description on the night she vanished while walking along the sidewalk on South Washington Street near East 15th Avenue. A witness described the boy as being about 5 feet tall with dark, short wavy hair and a baby face. On the night Sofia vanished, at some point between 8 and 9:15 p.m., the boy allegedly ushered her toward a light blue or silver/gray older 1970s to early 1980’s full-sized panel van with no windows, which was stopped on a nearby street.”
“It is our belief the van and the juvenile male may be associated with one another,” Wehner told People. “Somebody out there knows something. Allegiances once owed to people have changed over the years. Now is the time to step forward. “
Police are asking that anyone with information regarding Sophia Juarez’s disappearance contact Special Investigator Al Wehner at 509-582-1331 or Kennewick Emergency Dispatch at 509-628-0333.