VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A little girl who went missing for several hours in Virginia Beach was eventually found in a car near a strip club back in March.
On March 31, Virginia Beach police got a call about a missing 2-year-old girl. A search warrant states that the girl’s father was seen trying to get into a gentleman’s club at around 1 a.m.
We spoke to the girl's father, who is currently being held in jail for child neglect.
The father told News 3 from jail that he was there to pick up a friend but was assaulted and went in and out of consciousness.
Records state that after the owner of the strip club called the father an Uber, he arrived at a relative's house in a panic, not able to find his car or daughter. Police eventually arrested the father for child neglect and public intoxication.
The father told News 3 he was not under the influence in any way and attributes the assault to him not remembering what happened.
At 5:30 a.m., records state that with the help of the Find My Phone app, the little girl was found inside her father’s car at a construction site near the strip club.
“It’s taken very seriously and in this particular case, we’re talking about a child [who] was found alive using technology and good old-fashioned police work,” said Richard James, a former detective with about 30 years of experience.
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This case had a positive ending, but every year, thousands of children go missing in the United States.
Sadly, in 2022, there were 360,000 reports of missing children entered into the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, according to the Department of Justice.
“Once law enforcement gets involved for a missing child, it’s all hands on deck until the child is located,” said James.
James has worked several missing child cases in the City of Norfolk.
“Time is not on your side, so that’s why we don’t stop. You want to try to locate and find all the information you can through your investigation,” said James.
Investigations
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The News 3 Investigative Team also spoke with a father whose daughter was missing for two years.
In 2018, Tony Gentile’s 2-year-old daughter went missing for two years after her mother fled Virginia Beach with the child. The News 3 Investigative Team has been covering this case for years.
Gentile said, “It’s the worst thing you could ever imagine. The thoughts and doubts that go through your mind are just never-ending. You wake up every day with this burden on your shoulder of, what can I do next?”
He spent his own resources and worked relentlessly to search for his little girl. With the help of the FBI, she was eventually found in Spain.
Her mother served a two-year sentence for international parental abduction.
“In my case, it was on a global scale. We found her in the Canary Islands, so it was pretty torturous,” said Gentile.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is celebrating 40 years of helping recover missing kids.
“When a child goes missing, we get a call... Sometimes it's from the parent, the legal guardian and sometimes it's law enforcement and then… we support law enforcement in their investigation,” said Leemie Kahng-Sofer, the Program Manager within the Missing Children Division of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
According to their website, in total, they’ve helped find more than 426,000 missing children.
Kahng-Sofer said the public is able to get information more quickly due to technology.
“We started as the milk carton poster people and today, we have posters that we're able to put on websites and social media. We're able to share those more quickly,” said Kahng-Sofer.
Gentile understands the importance of getting information out quickly, especially when you are desperately looking for your child.
“It’s nerve-racking to say the least. I mean, your mind is just in constant doubt with very, very little hope,” he said.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children offers this checklist if your child does go missing. It includes information on who to call, what information to provide law enforcement, what clues to look for and what action to take.
