Case Details
- Photo URLs:
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- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 12/06/1982
- Missing From:
- Missing From Homestead, Florida
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Female
- Race:
- Race Hispanic
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 10/22/1973 (51)
- Age:
- Age 9 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight 4’0 – 4’2, 60 – 100 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Clothing/Jewelry Description A white t-shirt, blue and pink pants and beige and brown shoes.
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Maribel may use the first name Marilyn.
- Details of Disappearance:
- On December 6, 1982, seven-year-old Maribel left her home in Homestead, Florida, to buy candy. She ignored her sister’s instructions to bring a sibling and ask their mother first. Maribel bought candy at a local store and was seen getting into a waiting car. She’s never been seen since.
Police suspect Maribel’s father, Emiliano, might be responsible. Emiliano had a history of drug abuse, violence towards Maribel’s mother, and stalking her after she left him. Three days before Maribel disappeared, Emiliano threatened Maribel’s mother, saying he’d take away what she loved most. A few weeks later, Maribel’s mother and sister saw Emiliano driving away with a small girl who looked like Maribel. He returned alone and told Maribel’s mother she could see her daughter again if she came back to him.
Emiliano has been arrested several times since then, but always for minor offenses. Now elderly and suffering from dementia, he lives in a nursing home and has refused to explain Maribel’s disappearance. The case remains a mystery.
- Agency:
- Homestead Police Department 305-247-1535
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 12/06/1982