Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Photos

Sabrina Paige Aisenberg















Sabrina, date, approximate 1997; Age-progression to age 18 (date, approximate 2015); Sabrina's missing blanket; Sabrina's sister Monica; Steve Aisenberg; Marlene Aisenberg, date, approximate 1999; The unidentified girl Paloma
Date Missing 11/24/1997
Missing From
Valrico, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 06/27/1997 (25)
Age 4 months old
Height and Weight 2'6, 20 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A lavender sleeper with a floral pattern.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Sabrina has several marks in the shape of the letter "Y" below her right shoulder. Her last name is pronounced "I-sen-berg."
Details of Disappearance Sabrina disappeared from her family's residence in Valrico, Florida between 12:00 a.m. and 6:42 a.m. on November 24, 1997. Her mother, Marlene Aisenberg, told authorities that she checked on Sabrina at approximately 12:00 a.m. and the infant was asleep in her crib. She stated that when she returned to her daughter's room at 6:42 a.m., Sabrina had disappeared.
A handmade blue and yellow blanket with imprinted animal images and yellow piping was also missing from her crib. A photo of the blanket is posted with this summary. Sabrina has never been seen again.
The garage door and one of the doors to the Aisenbergs' residence had been unlocked during the morning of Sabrina's disappearance. Investigators found an unidentified blonde hair and a shoe print near the baby's crib, as well as seven unidentified fingerprints inside the house.
Neighbors told authorities there had been several incidents involving possible attempted break-ins in the area in homes with small children. One of the Aisenbergs' neighbors reported that his dog barked at approximately 1:00 a.m. on the morning Sabrina vanished. After letting the dog outside, the man believed he heard a baby crying somewhere in the distance. He stated that none of his closest neighbors had small children at the time. It is not known if the cries the witness thought he overheard were from Sabrina.
Sabrina's parents say she strongly resembled her older sister Monica at the time she disappeared. A photograph of Monica at age four is posted with this summary; Sabrina may still look like her. Sabrina's hair was brown at the time of her disappearance but may have lightened to blonde as she grew older.
Authorities questioned why no one inside the Aisenberg residence awoke if an intruder indeed abducted Sabrina. The family owned a dog and they stated the pet never barked during the night Sabrina disappeared. Investigators suspected Marlene and her husband, Steve, were connected to their daughter's . Photos of both the child's parents are posted with this summary.
Authorities obtained permission to place listening devices inside the family's home three weeks after Sabrina disappeared. According to the police transcripts of the Aisenbergs' conversations, Marlene and Steve both said that Sabrina was dead during the tapings.
Sabrina's parents were indicted on conspiracy and additional charges in September 1999, nearly two years after their daughter vanished. In February 2001, a judge found that investigators lied when seeking permission to place the wiretaps in the Aisenbergs' residence.
Steve and Marlene were cleared of all charges against them. The judge also stated that there was nothing on the tapes which contained the evidence mentioned in the transcripts of the Aisenbergs' conversations. The lead prosecutor in the Aisenbergs' was demoted in July 2001.
Steve and Marlene's attorneys filed motions seeking for the government to repay their clients' fees in August 2001, given that the charges had been dropped. They received $2.7 to $2.9 million in damages. The amount was later reduced to $1.3 to $1.5 million. Steve and Marlene sued again, seeking further damages and accusing their prosecutors of conspiring to deprive them of their civil rights, fabricating evidence, and lying about it.
In 2004, a judge dismissed this suit, saying the law gives prosecutors an immunity from such lawsuits about their official actions. A similar lawsuit against the sheriff's office was, in 2006, dropped by the Aisenbergs, as they decided it was "materially impeding" the investigation into their daughter's disappearance.
Steve, Marlene, and their attorney met with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detectives in August 2005 to discuss Sabrina's . Sabrina's parents were subjected to extensive questioning, and they took polygraph tests given by their lawyer and the sheriff's office. The sheriff's office has not released the results of the tests, but Steve and Marlene claim they both passed. They have not been ruled out as suspects in Sabrina's disappearance, but have cooperated with the police as authorities began the investigation anew.
In April 2003, the possibility was raised that Sabrina may be "Paloma Unknown," an infant who was abandoned in May of 1998. A photograph of the child at age two is posted with this summary. Paloma, as an infant, was taken across the Mexican border into Texas by a teenage female claiming to be her mother.
The teenager gave Paloma to Molly Garza, a Spanish woman who may have been working in the textile industry. Garza was being deported to Spain and could not take the child, so she gave Paloma to a friend who was a registered nurse at a migrant clinic. Garza signed her name allowing the nurse to give Paloma up for adoption. Such off-the-book adoptions are not uncommon around the Mexican border.
The nurse gave Paloma to her sister, who raised her with her husband in Pontiac, Illinois. They tried to adopt her, but without a birth certificate or any information on Paloma's background they were not allowed to. Instead they were appointed as her guardians. Several agencies have tried to determine information on Paloma's parentage but come up with nothing.
A woman in Michigan saw Sabrina's missing-child poster in the spring of 2003 and noticed the resemblance between Paloma and the missing baby's pictures. She called Sabrina's parents, who agreed that Paloma did resemble their daughter. A DNA sample was collected from Paloma and compared to a sample police had of Sabrina's. It did not match. Paloma remains unidentified.
Steve and Marlene moved to Maryland with their two older children after Sabrina's disappearance. They continue to maintain their innocence in Sabrina's disappearance and stated they believe that their daughter is alive and living with another family somewhere in the United States. Many investigators still think Sabrina was the victim of foul play. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
813-247-8200
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Child Protection Education of America
Sabrina Paige Aisenberg: Missing Baby
The Polly Klaas Foundation
The St. Petersburg Times
ABC News
The Washington Post
The Tampa Tribune
ABC Action News Tampa/St. Petersburg
48 Hours Mystery
Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved in the News

Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Photos