Chicago child missing for 7 years found by U.S. Marshals
A Chicago child who went missing while in Illinois Department of Children and Family Services custody has been found by U.S. Marshals after seven years.
The U.S. Marshals said they worked with the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Chicago Police Department to find the child, who has not been identified.
Officials said on May 23, 2018, an infant who was in DCFS custody was reported missing. DCFS suspected the infant, who had become a ward of the state after being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection, was with the biological mother but was not safe in her custody.
Before authorities could find the baby, the mother ran away.
Law enforcement said a warrant was issued for the mother on May 7, 2025 for contempt of court related to a yearslong battle to have the child returned. Then, on July 9, Chicago police asked U.S. Marshals for help getting the child back.
An investigation led law enforcement to a home in the city's Humboldt Park neighborhood. Officers set up surveillance to confirm the mother was there, and said they also saw the missing child's older sibling, who police said was wanted by CPD for aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child.
On July 17, Marshals said they observed the mother, a teenager and a child who resembled the missing child leaving the home, and took the mother into custody. She at first gave police a fake name for the child, but U.S. Marshals said that when investigators used the child's real name, they were surprised but did confirm that was their actual name.
The child, the teenager and an infant and toddler who were in the stroller at the time were put in DCFS custody upon the mother's arrest. The mother was booked in to Cook County Jail on outstanding warrants, police said.
The missing child, who is still a ward of the state, was returned to DCFS custody and the older sibling that was wanted for sex assault was arrested the following day, law enforcement said. Police did not comment about ongoing custody related to the three other children with the missing child at the time of the mother's arrest.
Neither the mother nor the child were identified and no further information was released.