Nearly two months ago Gladys Blanco’s daughter Vilet Torrez disappeared without a trace. Now, Blanco is bracing herself to say goodbye to her missing daughter’s three children.
Blanco has been caring for her grandchildren, but her daughter’s estranged husband, Cid Torrez, was granted custody of them again on Friday. He is the only person of interest that authorities have mentioned in Vilet Torrez’s disappearance, though his lawyer maintains he had nothing to do with it.
"It's like they’re ripping another piece of my heart,” Blanco told NBC 6.
The Florida Department of Children and Families previously handed custody to Blanco and her husband following a confidential call by a family member expressing fear that Cid Torrez could hurt himself or the children.
But late last week the Attorney General’s Office voluntarily dismissed the court case against Cid Torrez.
"He knows where his kids are,” Blanco said, but “I don't know where my daughter is. What did they do to her?" she asks.
Miramar Police suspect foul play in Vilet Torrez’s disappearance. Last week divers searched the lake near her Miramar townhouse but came up empty.
Cid Torrez's attorney Richard Della Fera wrote in an email over the weekend, “Cid has had a tough struggle since his wife, Vilet, disappeared nearly two months ago. He is extremely grateful that he will now be happily reunited with his children.”
Now the children's suitcases are packed and ready to go. Their toys have been put away as they prepare to return to their father.
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Another of Blanco’s daughters, Nayiva Blanco, said her biggest fear is losing the children.
“That we lose them forever. Just like we lost our sister,” she said.
