US Woman Kidnapped by Mother as Toddler Found Alive in Mexico After 25 Years- wna24

Connecticut: A woman who was kidnapped as a toddler by her mother 25 years ago has been found alive in Mexico, authorities confirmed through DNA testing.  

Andrea Michelle Reyes, now 27, was just 23 months old when her mother, Rosa Tenorio, allegedly kidnapped her from their home in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1999. At the time, a court had awarded custody of the child to her father.  

Despite multiple attempts by the father to locate his daughter, including repeated trips to Mexico she remained missing for decades. Authorities suspected she was taken to Puebla, a city southeast of Mexico City, but all efforts to trace her failed.  

The case remained unsolved until 2023, when New Haven detectives revisited the investigation. Around the same time, a woman claiming to be Reyes contacted the man she believed was her father. This led authorities to Puebla, where a forensic DNA test using her father’s sample confirmed her identity.  

The test was conducted by Othram, a forensic genealogy company, using “Rapid Relationship Testing.” This marked the seventh time authorities in Connecticut identified a missing person using advanced DNA technology.  

Tenorio, the mother, has been wanted since the kidnapping. A felony warrant for custodial interference was issued shortly after the abduction, followed by another criminal warrant in 2009. However, the FBI probe into the case was reportedly abandoned for years before it was revived last year.  

While Reyes has been confirmed alive and continues to reside in Mexico, her mother’s arrest warrant remains active in the U.S. It is unclear whether she has reunited with her father.  

Authorities are now working on the legal aspects of the case, as the discovery of Reyes brings renewed attention to a decades-old mystery.