WATCH ABOVE: Massachusetts State Police say tips have been coming in from around the country about a little girl who was found dead in late June.
TORONTO — It seems hard to believe that a child could simply disappear without anyone noticing, but for Massachusetts officials, that’s the case.
A computer-generated composite image has been spread around social media, viewed and shared tens of millions of times, and yet no one has come forward to identify the little girl whose body was found along a Massachusetts shoreline June 25.
“We believe she was somewhere around four years old, likely three-and-a-half feet tall, 30 pounds in weight,” said Suffolk County district attorney Daniel Conley. “She had brown eyes, brown hair, light skin. Most likely a Caucasian or a member of the Hispanic race.”
The young girl wore polka dot tights, had pierced ears, and was found with a zebra print blanket.
The cause of her death has not yet been determined; officials said the girl’s body did not show obvious signs of trauma. However, the manner in which her body was found has prompted great concern from officials.
A woman walking her dog found the body wrapped in a garbage bag along the shore of Deer Island, a peninsula off Boston Harbour. Officials have said it’s not clear if the girl’s body was left in that location or if her body washed up on shore, adding the body had likely not been there for long.
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The composite image of the girl, prepared by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, was first released on July 2 and updated July 9.
“We ask the public to be alert for any children who seem to have gone missing from their communities, their neighbourhoods, schools, summer programs, parks, churches or any other places where people gather,” read a statement from the Massachusetts State Police last week.
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It went on urging people to be aware at community gatherings or block parties of any children who may be missing. Anyone with information is asked to contact police immediately.
“Please help us speak for this child who can no longer speak for herself.”
Online commenters have suggested links to past missing children cases, some posting pictures of young girls resembling the composite image, but none have resulted in a conclusive lead.
In 2014 the FBI logged 466,949 entries for missing children — anyone under the age of 18 — into its National Crime Information Center.
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