Where is Melissa Highsmith? Texas toddler kidnapped in 1971 allegedly spotted after 51 years on Daniel Island
FORT WORTH, TEXAS: A Texas family now believes that their 22-month-old daughter named Melissa Highsmith, who was abducted in 1971, is still alive and is now residing 1,100 miles away from where she was last seen. In 1971, Highsmith's mother needed someone to watch her baby daughter. She was shortly greeted by the tidy-dressed woman who had been recruited as the babysitter.
According to Live 5 News, the tidy-dressed woman who was wearing white gloves visited the family's Fort Worth, Texas, home after Highsmith's mother, who was then 22 years old, placed an ad in the newspaper seeking a daytime babysitter. Sadly, after being recruited, the unnamed babysitter took Highsmith and never handed her back. Police were summoned by the family, but reportedly nothing was done about the situation. Highsmith's family never gave hope and kept their faith even when the identity of the babysitter was unknown. Now, a tipster has come forward regarding Highmith's possible whereabouts.
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In an effort to find Highsmith, who will turn 53 next month, her family created a Facebook group. All of these brave choices seemed to have finally paid off on September 9 when a significant revelation regarding Highsmith's whereabouts was made known.
A tipster claimed to have spotted Highsmith on Daniel Island in South Carolina after seeing age-evolved images of her and getting in touch with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Highsmith's father and brother have traveled more than 1,100 miles to hand out flyers and hold vigils in an effort to find the missing woman. Numerous volunteers are assisting them in their search, as per reports.
A family volunteer, Melissa Engdahl, told ABC News 4, "We hope that she is here on Daniel Island and tonight we're getting a group together to pray that she's finally returned to her family reunited and that her parents who are now in her 70s can get some peace knowing that she's safe and sound."
The family is requesting that anyone with information regarding Highsmith's whereabouts get in touch with them via the Facebook group. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children urged the public to come forward with any tips in a press release to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
John Bischoff, vice president of the missing children division at NCMEC wrote, "Even though we don't know if this tip will lead to answers, we know law enforcement is working steadfastly and we hope that his information and the renewed attention the public has for Melissa will continue to bring awareness that she is still missing."
"We know that answers are always possible. The public is vital to bringing home missing children and we know that it only takes one person to see the right thing, report it and help bring a missing child home," Bischoff concluded