FL FL - Katheryne Lugo, 4, Riviera Beach, 8 Jan 1994

[Moonwalker9]

Missing Person Case
Katheryne Mary Lugo – The Charley Project

Couldn't find a thread for her so here it goes

Katheryne Mary Lugo

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Katheryne, circa 1994; Age-progression to age 23 (circa 2012)

• Missing Since01/08/1994
• Missing FromRiviera Beach, Florida
• ClassificationNon-Family Abduction
• Date of Birth03/06/1989 (29)
• Age4 years old
• Height and Weight3'0, 65 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionUnderpants and a purple and white t-shirt with a picture of the television dinosaur Barney.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsHispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Katheryne has pierced ears and a nickel-sized brown birthmark on the hamstring of her right leg. She may use the alias name Parag Khondokar and/or the alias date of birth January 2, 1989 . Some agencies spell her first name "Katherine."

Details of Disappearance
Katheryne's mother, Frances Moya, sometimes referred to as Francisca Maya, told authorities she last saw Katheryne at approximately 5:30 a.m. on January 8, 1994 at their residence at the Wood's Edge apartment complex on Military Trail, north of Blue Heron Boulevard in Riviera Beach, Florida.

Moya departed for work at that time and left Katheryne in the care of Moya's former live-in boyfriend, Misbah Muhammad Kazi. Kazi is not Katheryne's biological father.

Moya stated that when she returned home later in the day, Kazi informed her that he had sent Katheryne to his native Bangladesh. Kazi claimed that he would not allow Katheryne to return to the United States until Moya agreed to give him full custody of their unborn child.

Moya was eight months pregnant with a girl in January 1994, and was planning to end her relationship with Kazi. She stated they had been having problems for years and he mistreated her and Katheryne; she had sought an injunction against him for domestic violence in 1992.

Authorities believe that Kazi abducted Katheryne in an attempt to force her mother to give up her rights to her unborn baby. He was charged with Katheryne's kidnapping, but was acquitted during his trial. Kazi's defense was that Moya had sent Katheryne away into hiding in a spiteful attempt to frame him for kidnapping the child. He remains the prime suspect in Katheryne's case.

Kazi began harassing Moya by telephone after his trial ended, insinuating that he would reveal Katheryne's whereabouts. He never divulged the child's location. Moya believes Kazi's sister, who lived in the United States in 1994 but was later deported, may have been involved in Katheryne's abduction.

The sister has never been charged in Katheryne's case. She was one of the key witnesses against Kazi at his kidnapping trial, but recanted her statement that she had last seen Katheryne in his company. Moya now lives in New York, which is where Katheryne was born. She continues to hope Katheryne will someday be returned to her.

Kazi is currently serving a life sentence in a California prison for attempted murder. He was convicted after beating his pregnant fiancee with a hammer in 1995 and leaving her for dead. Authorities stated that Kazi purchased a $300,000 life insurance policy on the woman and intended to kill her in order to receive the settlement.

Although he has been offered several deals by prosecutors, Kazi has continued to refuse to cooperate with investigators regarding Katheryne's case. He has offered to produce proof that the child is alive, but has never actually done so.

Katheryne's case remains open and unsolved. Authorities believe she may still be alive and within the United States. Her family has ties to New York, New Jersey and West Palm Beach, Florida as well as Bangladesh.

Feel like she could still be alive with relatives from her fathers side.

 

[rahathere]

The FBI has put a reward for her whereabouts. I hope she is found soon.

FBI offers $10,000 reward for whereabouts of woman abducted when she was 4

 

[CastlesBurning]

I absolutely do not want to seem like I'm victim-blaming here, because I am not. I sincerely hope Katheryne's mom will find answers in her daughter's disappearance. But I really have to wonder...if you had had domestic violence issues for YEARS with this man, and that included your small defenseless child as well as yourself, why on earth would you leave said child alone in his care? I understand that perhaps mom might have been backed into a corner, having to go to work and not having a sitter, but literally anyone would have been a better childcare option than this guy. JMO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

It gets more difficult every day to keep hope alive," Katheryne's mother, Francis Moya, told CBS12 News in an exclusive interview. "I always hope that we will find her alive, but I'm also realistic. It's been 27 years."

She says Kazi told her he sent the four-year-old to his native Bangladesh, and that Moya wouldn't see her again unless she gave him custody of the baby she was pregnant with.

Police immediately searched the area around their apartment in Woods Edge Circle, checked flights in and out of Palm Beach International Airport, and brought Kazi in for questioning.

"The way he was acting, there was no doubt in my mind he was responsible for her disappearance," remembers Rick Sessa, former Riviera Beach Police Lieutenant.

"He was just very closed lipped, and every time we would mention her name and what happened, he would look away and look down," Sessa said. "He was eerily quiet."

Sessa questioned Kazi with then-Detective Pat Galligan.

"I put two pictures [of Katheryne] down and I said, 'Where is she? Tell me now,'" Galligan remembered. "[Kazi] put his head down and starts sobbing. Right then and there that was a red flag to me. He either harmed this girl or killed her. One thing or the other. He did something to her and it wasn't good."

Police say Katheryne's mother was cooperative from the start and passed a lie detector test, but Kazi refused and quickly asked for his lawyer.

Because Kazi was the last person seen with Katheryne, police charged him with kidnapping -- even though they admit they had little evidence.

When the case went to trial in 1995, Kazi's sister took the stand.

She previously confessed that she saw Katheryne leave with Kazi the day she disappeared -- but during the trial she recanted her story and the case fell apart.

The jury found Kazi "not guilty."

"It was disgusting," said Galligan. "I was just disgusted."

"It's him," said Moya. "Unfortunately the justice system, it failed Katheryne. It didn't fail me, it failed her."

Shortly after his acquittal in Florida, Kazi moved to California and was arrested again.

This time, police say he attempted to murder a pregnant woman.

It caught the attention of federal investigators, like FBI Special Agent Jeff Danik.

"We pivoted [to the California investigation], hoping that would cause him to cough up information in Katheryne's case," he remembers.

Kazi was convicted in California and given a life sentence.

Over the years, the FBI has attempted to get Kazi to speak about Katheryne's case and offered him several deals in exchange for information. So far, he hasn't cooperated.

"He could come around," Danik, who has since retired from the FBI, said. "[Kazi] has been in state prison a long time. He has shown some signs of wanting to interact."

Riviera Beach Police have assigned new detectives to the case and they plan on trying to interview Kazi in prison.

"In the near future we are planning to get with the FBI in attempts to interview Kazi again," said Detective Brooke Weiner. "At this time there is no reason to believe Katheryne is deceased."

Danik told CBS12 News federal agents thoroughly vetted the theory that Katheryne was in a foreign country like Bangladesh. He said they visited the villages, circulated photos of Katheryne internationally, and examined countless flight records.

It's possible Kazi sent Katheryne over state lines -- and if that's the case, he could be charged in a federal kidnapping investigation.

The I-Team reached out to Kazi's prison multiple times to request an interview, but never heard back.

HOLDING OUT HOPE

Another organization that is still working Katheryne's case is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Through their Forensic Imaging Department, artists update Katheryne's missing person photo with an age progression every few years.

They use biological family photos and special software to enhance Katheryne's features and predict what she would look like today.

The most recent photo the NCMEC published shows her at age 31.

"It's so important because no matter how much time passes, we never give up on the hope of finding these long-term missing children," said Colin McNally, Supervisor of the NCMEC's Forensic Imaging Unit.

He said his department has produced more than 7,000 age progressions of missing children over the years.

In 1,000 cases, missing children have been recovered, in part, because someone recognized them in an age progression picture -- even in cases as old as Katheryne's.

"Ten years can go by, 20 years can go by -- as many as 30 years, and your child can still be brought home," said McNally.

Francis Moya has heard the stories of long term missing children being reunited with their family members -- and each one gives her hope to keep praying for a miracle in Katheryne's case.

"My hope is before I die, I can find out at least where she is at," Moya said.

Anyone with information in the Katheryne Lugo case should contact Riviera Beach Police or CRIME STOPPERS. The FBI has offered a $10,000 reward.
I-Team: Keeping hope alive in Katheryne Lugo cold case

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[DS2021]

its been over 30 years