Exactly 40 years after a 9-year-old girl vanished without a trace in Homestead, authorities are hoping a new reward will help get them closer to solving the case.
Maribel Oquendo-Carrero was last seen on Dec. 6, 1982, when she left her home in the Sky Vista Apartments in the 1500 block of Northeast 8th Street.
Oquendo-Carrero had gone on a walk to a corner store called Food Spot #21 at 1611 Northeast 8th Street, located in the Sky Vista Shopping Center.
She was never seen again.
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"Where is she? Is she living a life somewhere? Maybe in another state?” said Homestead Police Captain Fernando Morales.
The FBI on Tuesday announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to her recovery or the arrest of the person responsible for her disappearance.
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“It’s our hope that there were more persons around at the time she went missing," Morales said.
Oquendo-Carrero would be 49 years old now. She was born in Camden, New Jersey, but has ties to Puerto Rico and New York.
"Do we believe she’s alive and still with us today? We don’t have any leads to suggest that she’s not," Morales said. "So, we have to be hopeful.”
At the time of her disappearance, she had black hair and brown eyes, and was 4-foot-3 and weighed 54 pounds. The FBI released a photo that was age-progressed to show Oquendo-Carrero at age 47.
“In the past 40 years, technology has really done a full circle and we’re hoping with technology, the FBI has access to – along with our detectives, and other agencies that have been helping us out, we’re hoping to get or find someone that might have seen something," Morales said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Homestead Police or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.
