628 Children Reported Missing In CA: Have You Seen Them?

CALIFORNIA — Daria Fortune, a 16-year-old last seen in California on May 9, is among hundreds of missing or kidnapped children the FBI is working to bring home as part of National Missing Children’s Day on Thursday.

As of Thursday, there were more than 600 missing children from the Golden State in a long-running database kept by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a national nonprofit started in 1984 by child advocates and the parents of children who had been kidnapped.

Here's a look at some of the children who are currently reported as missing in California.

• Daria Fortune, 16 (San Jose)
  • Missing since May 9, 2023
• Chelsea Boughton (El Cajon)
  • Missing since May 8, 2023
• Lyleth Brown, 17 (Oceanside)
  • Missing since May 9, 2023
• Kylee Golden, 17 (Santa Clarita)
  • Missing since April 27, 2023
• Dahlia Garcia, 15 (Los Angeles)
  • Missing since April 12, 2023
• Rony Carvallo, 17 (Los Angeles)
  • Missing since April 10, 2023
• Braydon Pence, 15 (Moreno Valley)
  • Missing since April 12, 2023

The FBI, in its announcement of National Missing Children’s Day, also released a separate Kidnappings and Missing Persons list.

“Please take a moment to review the list — and if you recognize anyone or have any information in a case, contact the FBI or local law enforcement or submit a tip online,” the FBI said in the statement. “No detail is too small.”

“We as law enforcement never forget these children and never stop looking for them,” Todd Tumbleson, a criminal investigator for the Nevada Attorney General’s Office and an officer on the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, said in a statement.

Tumbleson has been involved in the investigation of a missing 7-year-old in Las Vegas who left school and never returned home in 1999. These kids and their families “deserve nothing less” than a commitment from law enforcement to never stop trying to bring them home, he said.

“The public often knows something they think is not important but which we in law enforcement find very important,” said Tumbleson.

Sometimes, when people hear about the case of a missing child, “it brings back memories of things a suspect said or things the witness saw that might help to locate a child,” Tumbleson said. “Any information the public has should be shared with those investigating the case.”

The FBI said National Missing Children’s Day is also a reminder of the steps parents should take if their child disappears under suspicious circumstances. FBI agents have the authority to immediately begin investigating mysterious disappearances or kidnappings, regardless of jurisdiction.

“Do not wait to report a missing child,” the agency said.

The FBI’s free Child ID app allows parents to quickly share key information with authorities if their child is missing. The app also provides tips on keeping children safe and guidance on what to do during the first crucial hours after a child disappears.