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El Paso Police Trying To Identify Toddler Found Near Texas-Mexico Border; Believed To Be American

By Trisha Faulkner
Published on: 09:20 PST, Jun 3, 2017

Four months ago, authorities discovered a toddler by himself near the Texas-Mexico border. To date, the El Paso police have been unable to identify the toddler, figure out where he came from, or figure out why he was all alone on the Mexico-Texas border.

According to KSAT 12 News, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the El Paso police decided to work together to see if the identity of this toddler could be found. As such, a statement was released asking the public for assistance in figuring out who this young boy was and where he came from

What El Paso police know

El Paso police have reason to believe the toddler is American given the fluency of his English. They also believe his name is likely to be Luis. The toddler was discovered by himself on February 22 (four months ago) in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He was wearing blue sweatpants, black shoes, and a t-shirt when he was discovered. The toddler is 3 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds. He is estimated to be between the ages of 2- and 3-years-old. He has brown eyes and short brown hair. The toddler also has a small, but noticeable birthmark that is located above his left eyebrow.

As it has been four months and the El Paso police are no closer to figuring out who the toddler is or where he might have come from, they have decided to reach out to the public for help. Anyone who has information regarding this found toddler on the Texas-Mexico border is encouraged to contact the El Paso Police Department Communications office at 915-832-4400 or Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 915-566-8477. Even someone with the smallest piece of information regarding who this toddler could be is encouraged to call as police would like to figure out who he is and possibly reunite him with family. Callers who wish to remain anonymous are encouraged to contact Crimes Stoppers of El Paso.

Missing children statistics

According to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, determining the exact statistics regarding missing children in the United States is impossible because not all children are reported missing. This is largely because children are abducted on a daily basis in the U.S. by everyone from family members to people met online to familiar individuals to total strangers.

The closest anyone can come to an estimate is the current number of entries in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC). Last year, for example, there were a little more than 450,000 children listed as missing in the United States. It is worth noting this number is not just children who went missing in the year 2016. This number includes children who have been missing in years prior and have yet to be discovered.

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This toddler discovered on the Texas-Mexico border believed to be named Luis is a prime example of a child who went missing but was never reported missing. Had the discovered toddler been reported missing through the proper channels, El Paso police would have likely determined his identity by now. Because four months have passed, people have begun to ask the worst scenarios related questions such as where are the toddlers’ and is the toddler’s family still alive?

National Criminal Justice Reference Service notes the key to successful – and happy – endings to missing children cases is timing. The sooner a missing child is reported the faster proper measures can be taken to find and/or rescue the child.

What do you think happened to this toddler’s family? Do you think his identity and family will be found? Let us know in the comments down below.

[Featured Image by Narattapon Purod/ShutterStock]

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