Missing Since April: Joliet Police Draw Attention To Missing Siblings

JOLIET — Shortly after the Joliet Police Department posted photos of 13-year-old Mia Bonilla and her 17-year-old brother Ruben on Facebook, seeking everyone's help in finding them, the online questions started showing up.

"Joliet Police Department, why is it just now being reported 3 mos later?" one person named Brandi posted on the agency's Facebook page.

On Tuesday afternoon, Joliet police shared on social media that officers are seeking assistance from residents regarding the whereabouts of 13-year-old Mia Bonilla and her 17-year-old brother Ruben, who were last seen in Joliet on April 19, in the 1100 block of Clement Street.

Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English later told Joliet Patch that Joliet police didn't just discover the brother and sister were missing this week. Officers have known since the spring time that the siblings went missing, and officers have been investigating the entire time.

It's just that police decided to post the information with their photos and physical description on this week Facebook, hoping that the additional publicity might help bring them home.

Joliet police investigate missing juvenile and missing person cases all the time, and not all the cases are posted on Facebook.

English said there is no belief that Mia and Ruben Bonilla have met foul play or that their lives are danger.

The two are classified as runaways. The brother and sister were among as many as eight siblings who learned they were being placed into foster care with the Illinois Department of Family Services. Rather than go live with DCFS, Ruben and Mia decided to leave the rest of their family on their own, according to Joliet police.

On Facebook, Joliet police said that Mia Bonilla and Ruben Bonilla may be together. Both are Hispanic. Mia is 5-foot-4, 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Ruben is 5-foot-9, 145 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Clothing description is unknown for both.

Anyone with information regarding the location of Mia Bonilla and Ruben Bonilla is urged to call 911 or (815)726-2491, Joliet police advised.