Police investigate TikTok video, new leads in connection with 2003 disappearance of Kennewick girl

KENNEWICK, Wash. — Kennewick police are investigating multiple new leads in the disappearance of a young girl 18 years ago.

Investigators said on Feb. 4, 2003, Sofia Juarez was abducted between 8 and 9:15 p.m., as she walked westbound in the 100 block of East 15th Avenue, towards South Washington Street in Kennewick.

Kennewick police said they have been checking on a TikTok video and new tips that were left on their website in the last month.

The Tri-City Herald reported that recently a TikTok video surfaced of a woman in Mexico who looked similar to Sofia as a child and in age-progression photos.

In Spanish, the woman claimed she was 22 years old, was kidnapped when she was a child, and is looking to find her family.

The Tri-City Herald reported the woman said she didn’t know where she was from. In the video, the woman also said she was trying to reunite with her grandmother and grandfather.

Sofia was born and raised in the Tri-Cities, and police said she was taken a day before her 5th birthday.

At the time of her disappearance, Sofia lived with her mother, grandmother, and several aunts and uncles in the 100 block of East 15th Avenue.

Investigators also said through the investigation, a highly credible witness was identified. The witness said that a girl matching Sofia’s description was walking along South Washington Street near East 15th Avenue.

According to police, a person approached the girl and led her away as she cried.

An occupied van was also seen and stopped on a nearby side street. It was described as a light blue or silver (or gray), older-1970s to early-1980s full-sized panel van with no side windows. It appeared to be a work van, the type that contractors or painters may use.

Anyone who has information on Sophia is being asked to live a tip on the Kennewick Police Department’s site or can contact special investigator, Al Wehner, at 509-582-1331 or al.wehner@ci.kennewick.wa.us.

Cox Media Group