Nearly 200 Children Have Been Reported Missing In Maryland: Have You Seen Them?

MARYLAND — On Aug. 30, 2021, 5-year-old Polette Rodriguez-Barahona's life changed forever. She was reported missing that day, last seen in Annapolis.

Now age 7, Polette may be with her father, possibly in El Salvador, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Her mother has applied for the return of the child under the international civil treaty: The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Polette is among hundreds of kidnapped and missing children the FBI is working to bring home as part of National Missing Children’s Day on Thursday.

As of Thursday, there were 100 missing children age 18 and younger in Maryland — 173 in all, according to a long-running database kept by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a national nonprofit started in 1984 by child advocates and the parents of children who had been kidnapped.

Here's a look at some of the children who are currently reported as missing in Maryland.

Kamryn Fields, now 18, was reported missing Nov. 10, 2004, from Laurel.

Carlos Castro-Perez, now 15, was reported missing May 20, 2022, from Gaithersburg. He was last seen wearing a dark grey T-shirt, light blue jeans, white and blue Nike shoes, a gold necklace and was carrying a black and gray backpack.

Ashley Chicas, now 17, was reported missing Dec. 20, 2019, from Bladensburg.

Akira Keegan, now 17, was reported missing May 11, 2023, in Bel Air.

Laila Person, now 17, was reported missing March 7, 2023, from Bowie. She was last seen wearing a gray tank top.

Noah Atkins, now 15, was reported missing Feb. 13, 2023, from Montgomery Village. He was last seen wearing a tan hooded sweatshirt, stonewash gray jeans, brown Timberland boots and carrying a blue Spiderman backpack.

Angel Ramos-Portillo, now 14, was reported missing Dec. 16, 2022, from Germantown. Angel was last seen wearing a gray Nike hooded sweatshirt, green plaid pajama pants and white tennis shoes.

The FBI, in its announcement of National Missing Children’s Day, also released a separate Kidnappings and Missing Persons list.

“Please take a moment to review the list — and if you recognize anyone or have any information in a case, contact the FBI or local law enforcement or submit a tip online,” the FBI said in the statement. “No detail is too small.”

“We as law enforcement never forget these children and never stop looking for them,” Todd Tumbleson, a criminal investigator for the Nevada Attorney General’s Office and an officer on the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, said in a statement.

Tumbleson has been involved in the investigation of a missing 7-year-old in Las Vegas who disappeared in 1999. These kids and their families “deserve nothing less” than a commitment from law enforcement to never stop trying to bring them home, he said.

“The public often knows something they think is not important but which we in law enforcement find very important,” said Tumbleson, who has been involved in a multi-year investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a 7-year-old in Las Vegas reported missing by her school in 1999 and never returned home.

Sometimes when people hear about the case of a missing child, “it brings back memories of things a suspect said or things the witness saw that might help to locate a child,” Tumbleson said. “Any information the public has should be shared with those investigating the case.”

The FBI said National Missing Children’s Day is also a reminder of the steps parents should take if their child disappears under suspicious circumstances. FBI agents have the authority to immediately begin investigating mysterious disappearances or kidnappings, regardless of jurisdiction.

“Do not wait to report a missing child,” the agency said.

The FBI’s free Child ID app allows parents to quickly share key information with authorities if their child is missing. The app also provides on keeping children safe and guidance on what to do during the first crucial hours after a child disappears.

*Above photos courtesy of the FBI