Missing Rock Island Girl Believed Abducted Found Safe: Police

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ROCK ISLAND, IL – UPDATED, 3:15 p.m. Jan. 16 — A 4-year-old girl who was in the back seat of a running car when it was stolen early Thursday morning has been found safe, Rock Island police said. More information is forthcoming.

KWQC is reporting that Blessing Aoci, 4, was found in an alley Thursday afternoon. The little girl is being evaluated at a hospital.

EARLIER — Rock Island police and other law enforcement are going door-to-door in a desperate search for missing 4-year-old Blessing Aoci, who was abducted while inside a vehicle that was stolen early Thursday morning.

Blessing was in her booster seat inside a running vehicle a few minutes after 6 a.m. while her mother went into the house when the car was stolen, said Chief Timothy McCloud of the Rock Island Police Department.

“At this point, our main concern is finding Blessing,” he said during an afternoon news conference.

McCloud said the first call of a stolen vehicle came in at 6:07 a.m., followed by a second call a few minutes later that a child was in the back seat.

Rock Island police arrived at the home in the 1300 block of 14th 1/2 Street around 6:10 a.m. A regional alert followed at 6:17 with a description of the missing vehicle.

The stolen vehicle was located near 8th Street and 15th Avenue in Rock Island just before 6:30 a.m., but Blessing was not in the vehicle, nor was the child’s booster seat.

Rock Island police notified Illinois State Police shortly thereafter, who issued an Amber Alert at 6:42 a.m.

The police chief said during there was a rash of vehicles stolen overnight in the Quad Cities, which includes Rock Island and Moline, Ill., and Davenport and Bettendorf, Ia., on the Illinois-Iowa state border along the Mississippi River.

McCloud said that while all possibilities are being explored, given the number of vehicles stolen overnight in the Quad Cities area, he did not believe at this time that the missing girl was taken in a targeted abduction.

“She could have been handed off to another vehicle,” McCloud said. “Our hope is that she is safe in a house nearby [where the stolen vehicle was found.]"

The chief added that he could not give out the make or model of the stolen vehicle “because it was found.” McCloud said the stolen vehicle was spotted on the city’s license plate readers, that appeared to accompanied by a white Dodge Dart that had also been reported stolen.

“We’re most interested in a white Dodge Dart that was last seen on [license plate readers] around midnight Thursday heading into Moline,” McCloud said.

The white Dodge Dart, believed to be accompanying the stolen vehicle, had an Illinois plate number, EG92693.

The police chief also cleared up “misinformation” that appeared on social media around noon Thursday stating that Blessing had been found.

“If there are any changes in this investigation, it will come directly from the Rock Island Police Department,” Rock Island police said on Facebook.

The FBI, US Marshals, Illinois State Police, Rock Island County and police from the Quad Cities are out searching for the missing child.

Blessing is Black, with black hair and brown eyes. 3 feet tall and weighing 50 pounds. She was last seen wearing a pink jacket, blue pants and pink boots, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

“We’re asking for the public’s help,” McCloud said.

If anyone has information about Blessing’s whereabouts or witnessed the car theft/abduction, please call 911 immediately or the Rock Island Police Department at 309-732-2677.

This story has been updated with new information.