Saturday, October 01, 2005
~Valerie's mommy is Missing...~
Mother Of Abandoned 4-Year-Old Declared Missing
POSTED: 4:41 pm EDT September 29, 2005
UPDATED: 6:25 pm EDT September 30, 2005
NEW YORK -- Nearly a week after a 4-year-old girl was found wandering barefoot on the streets of Queens, her mother was identified and declared missing.
Images: Mother Of Abandoned 4-Year-Old Declared Missing
The unclaimed girl, Valerie Lozada, remained in foster care this week while authorities tried to piece together clues she gave them about her background. Using records from a daycare center in Queens, police identified her mother as 26-year-old Monica Rivadinerra Lozada.
Investigators were questioning the missing woman's boyfriend late Friday. They also were seeking a search warrant for an apartment the couple shared in Forest Hills, Queens.
The mother was last seen at the home on Saturday, police said. She was described as 5-foot-6, 105 pounds, with long blonde hair and a tattoo of a bluebird on her stomach.
Valerie was found about 1 a.m. Sunday walking along 76th Street in Middle Village, Queens. Although alone and shoeless, she showed no outward signs of neglect or abuse, authorities said. The little girl, who speaks English and Spanish, told authorities that her mother's name was Monica. She said that she had two fathers, and that one of them woke her up late one night, drove her somewhere and dropped her off alone.
When asked about her mother, Valerie said she works at a restaurant and "she looks like a princess."
If you have any information about this case, please call the NYPD tip line at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Mama loves u... 4:24 PM
