Aleacia Stancil, an Arizona girl who had been missing since 1994, has been found.
When she disappeared almost 24 years ago, investigators thought the case was a lost cause. Toni Stancil, the girl’s mother, struggled with drugs and relied on sex work to sustain herself after leaving the Air Force. In December 1994, Stancil left her 9-month-old baby with a friend for a few days to “clear her head,” according to 3TV.
When she returned two days later, Aleacia was nowhere to be found. Toni was sent to jail soon after and didn’t report her daughter missing until March 1995.
Aleacia had been taken into custody by Child Protective Services, but no one thought to see if she was the missing baby. When Toni was found murdered later that year, the police lost hope.
"Without that one and only witness, I'm very limited in how to proceed with the investigation," said Det. William Andersen of the Phoenix Police Department.
The case ran cold until a woman stumbled into a Connecticut hospital in 2014. The woman couldn’t answer any questions about herself, so a nurse decided to check an online missing person database. She came across an age-progressed picture of Stancil and noticed a resemblance. The nurse called the police, and a DNA test determined the woman was Aleacia. She had been adopted and renamed.
Frances Ford, her grandmother, says Aleacia wants to maintain her privacy. Ford expressed a desire to build a relationship with her granddaughter and implied she had a hard life.
"I would want the world to know that these are the things that can happen to kids, and not every story is not a happily-ever-after, and it doesn't mean that they came from someone who didn't want them or didn't care," said Ford.
For investigators, this story is a glimmer of hope.
“Even after 20-plus years, happy outcomes can come,” Phoenix Police Sgt. Armando Carbajal told KTAR.
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