Decades after toddler Vinyette Teague went missing from the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, a missing children’s advocacy group has released images depicting what the girl may look like at age 42 in hopes of locating her as an adult.
Vinyette, then 18 months old, disappeared from the former Taylor Homes in June 1983 while relatives were watching her, according to a news release from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
The night Vinyette disappeared, she had been left with an aunt who also lived in the apartment complex, who at one point left her in the care of a neighbor while she took a phone call, the release said.
The neighbor had to leave Vinyette alone momentarily and put her in a stroller in front of her family’s apartment. When Teague’s aunt returned, the girl had gone missing, the release said.
Vinyette’s family has been looking for her since she disappeared. A 2006 Tribune article reported that her mother, Kathy Teague, was the first person to submit a DNA sample to the Calumet Park Police Department in hopes of finding her daughter.
In a 2001 Tribune article, a Chicago police spokesperson described cases like Teague’s as “genuine mysteries.”
Investigators said they were circulating images of what Teague may look like today to reach “the person who can help investigators pull the missing pieces together.”
The center’s communications director, Angeline Hartmann, said the group has seen cases of abducted infants found or who discovered their true identity years after the fact.
Those with information about Teague’s disappearance are asked to call 800-THE-LOST (800-843-5678).
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