Authorities in Texas are resuming the search for a missing 3-year-old girl on Wednesday after resolving Tuesday to spare no resource in finding Lina Sardar Khil.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Lina disappeared while at a playground at her apartment complex in San Antonio early Monday evening, after her mother briefly stepped away from her daughter and returned to the playground to discover the child missing, Law enforcement officials said at a press conference Monday that police have identified and contacted most, but not all, of the witnesses believed to be at the playground at the time Lina vanished.
Police have also reportedly gone door-to-door at the 300-unit apartment building, searched cars, and set up checkpoints to speak to people coming and going from the apartment complex.
Lina’s father Riaz Sardar Khil spoke to KENS-5 through a translator on Tuesday night, giving some more details about the circumstances of his daughter’s disappearance. Khil reportedly said that his daughter is believed to have wandered to a nearby path from the playground, and that Lina’s mother initially believed the girl may have gone back to the family’s apartment. Then, Khil said he briefly believed his daughter was with another Afghan family before ultimately becoming convinced his daughter was kidnapped.
Authorities have issued an AMBER Alert, which is typically reserved for abductions in which a suspect and/or vehicle can be identified. However, KENS-5 reports that police are still classifying Lina as missing, not specifically abducted, and investigators have not named any persons of interest in a possible kidnapping.
Lina’s father reportedly said the family migrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan two years ago, in part to escape the threat of violence.
“During our entire lives we have not been as saddened as we were yesterday and today,” Khil said through a translator on Tuesday. The father also said that he and his wife have been interviewed extensively by police and the FBI, which as joined the investigation.
“We are sparing no assets or resources trying to find 3-year-old Lina,” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said at a Tuesday press conference.
When last seen,Lina was last seen wearing a red dress, black jacket and black shoes. She has dark hair that she wore in a ponytail on Monday.
Anyone with possible information is urged to contact the San Antonio Police Missing Person’s Unit at 210-207-7660.
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