30-07-2025
Teen mom and baby daughter vanish after tiff in NYC park: cops
A 17-year-old Queens mom vanished with her 1-year-old daughter after a family dispute – and both haven't been seen since a weekend appearance at a popular park, cops and sources said.
Maria Castro Escalante, 17, got into a dispute with her own mother before she took off with little Catalina Escalante, 1, police sources said.
They were last spotted around 9 p.m. Monday inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park, about 3 miles away from their home, authorities said.
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Maria Castro Escalante, 17, vanished with her 1-year-old daughter Catalina after a family dispute, cops and sources said.
NYPD
The NYPD released a photo Tuesday night of the runaway teen mom holding her daughter in her arms.
Maria is described as about 5-foot-1 and 180 pounds, last seen wearing a black dress and black shoes.
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Her baby daughter was last seen wearing a pink shirt and a diaper.
Both were still nowhere to be found Wednesday.
The missing mother and daughter were last seen Saturday night in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, cops said.
Edmund J Coppa
No criminality was immediately suspected in their disappearance.
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Anyone with information on the missing mom and daughter is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crimestoppers website at or on X @NYPDTips.
