Girl, 7, found locked in wardrobe in desperate search for two-year-old sister
A desperate search is underway for Ava Marie Gonzales, who has been missing since December 2017, when she was just two years old. Her disappearance remained a mystery until April 3, 2024, when her seven-year-old sister was found starving and locked in a closet at the family's home.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit cited by ABC News, the young girl was discovered "malnourished, soiled, and barricaded in a bedroom closet" after a 911 call was made. She was immediately rushed to the hospital and is currently recovering.
In a public appeal on May 6, the Austin Police Department called for help in locating Ava, a now nine-year-old girl. Detective Russell Constable expressed concern for Ava's well-being, given the circumstances of her sister's discovery.
'The Austin Police Department is asking the community for help to find Ava Marie Gonzales,' Constable said in a press conference. 'Our detectives are seriously concerned about Ava's welfare, given the circumstances in which her sibling was found.'
The seven-year-old girl had been locked in the closet for a month, according to police. She was reportedly fed only a hot dog or corn dog each morning and given just half a cup of water a day. She weighed only 29 pounds when taken to the hospital.
The child was discovered by her grandmother during a visit to the home, who immediately called the police.
Ava's mother, Virginia Gonzales, was arrested on April 24 and charged with injury to a child and serious bodily injury related to the seven-year-old. Authorities discovered six other children in the home, all appearing physically healthy.
Police have not yet identified Ava's father but are working to do so. Virginia Gonzales is currently being held on a £56,484 bond, according to inmate records from the Travis County Sheriff's Office.
To aid in the search for Ava, the police have released an age-progressed photo of what she may look like today. Ava is described as a Hispanic female with straight brown hair and brown eyes.
The appeal comes after a Michigan mum was arrested after her three kids were found living in "deplorable" conditions, amidst heaps of rubbish and excrement. The unnamed 34-year-old was arrested when her children, a 15-year-old boy and two girls aged 12 and 13, were discovered in "absolute squalor" at their Pontiac residence in February.
Officers performed a welfare check following a tip-off from the landlord who hadn't seen the mother since December, with rent unpaid since October. The kids claimed they'd been ditched by their mum back in either 2020 or 2021, fending for themselves ever since.
Inside the house the children called home was a horror show, strewn with human waste, mould, and rubbish piled up to four feet high in places. The youngsters were also clueless about basic hygiene, like using toiletries or flushing the toilet, and hadn't been to school since being left to their own devices.
The girls hadn't stepped outside for years, bedding down on old pizza boxes, while the older boy slept on a mattress on the floor, their days filled with telly and games. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard condemned the living situation as "deplorable and intolerable for an animal."
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