TX TX - Lina Sardar Khil, 3, last seen on playground @ apartment complex, San Antonio, 20 Dec 2021 #2

[Lilibet]

This is the first MP case for me where the mother's name isn't known and she has not been televised making a statement or plea. Her husband said they don't eat or sleep. I understand the cultural difference but she's residing in USA now.

BBM

This is probably the first MP case we’ve ever followed here where the mother is an Afghani woman who has fled unrest in her country of birth to a land where the language, customs and dominant religion are far removed from anything familiar to her. <modsnip> Her religious customs likely play a role in her silence. Let’s not add our cultural expectations to her burden, please. She is a victim, as is her husband. He is the one facing the cameras, as is appropriate in their culture.
JMO

Quote RSBM.
Why do you need her to do something she doesn't want to do, doesn't need to do, and that would be traumatizing for her and make her feel even worse? How will that help find Lina?

Thank you

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Also let's keep in mind that Lina's family fought to come to the U.S. for a new life for Lina and her little brother.

I agree she has likely been abducted. The question is, was it a true outsider who just happened to be walking by (which seems doubtful), someone linked to the property but not known to the family (such as a resident, the friend of a resident, person working at or near the property, etc), or someone the family is at least familiar with in passing?

 

[katydid23]

Also let's keep in mind that Lina's family fought to come to the U.S. for a new life for Lina and her little brother.

I agree she has likely been abducted. The question is, was it a true outsider who just happened to be walking by (which seems doubtful), someone linked to the property but not known to the family (such as a resident, the friend of a resident, person working at or near the property, etc), or someone the family is at least familiar with in passing?

Reportedly, Mom said at first, she thought Lina might be with another Afghan family. I think that when Mom took the 2 yr old back to the apt., she thought Lina would continue playing with the friends she was with at the time.

Mom was surprised that Lina was not with them anymore, apparently.

So when we look at the 3 scenarios you listed above, I'd dismiss the 1st one, which you also said is doubtful. I don't think a total outsider would be looking at her as a 'possibility' if she was playing in a group of kids. They'd think Mom Wass right there somewhere close.

But the other 2 are possibilities because someone who lived there or knew people there, might have known that her Mom briefly walked away. They might have seen an opportunity because of that vulnerable moment.

And it is even more likely/possible if it was someone who was familiar to the family, because they could communicate with a shy girl easier, especially if they were Afghani also. I am not saying they were---just saying it would haver been easier for them to communicate with her.

Of course, if it was just a grab and go scenario, because she was alone, out by the parking lot, it wouldn't matter about the language barrier or the shyness at all.

 

[Hexe]

My understanding is that she speaks an Arabic language, that is a rare form, or that's spoken in a rare area of Afghanistan. Hence, does LEO have access to a proper interpreter, if need be? Truly I say, I don't think she knows what happened to Lina, if her explanation is true.

For all we know both Lina's parents speak Pashto, an eastern Iranian language belonging to the family of Indoeuropean languages. It basically means it has nothing in common with Arabic which is a Semitic language from the Afro-Asiatic branch of languages, a totally different and quite distant spot on the great tree of languages. It might be that the dialect of Pashto used by Lina's mom is particularly rare, I don't know, but Pashto as such is one of the most commonly used languages in Afghanistan.

 

[Kristin Esq.]

Someone posted earlier about Brian Entin covering this case. I agree, and I think MSM needs to report on this more. yes, I see news articles online, but if I didn't happen upon this thread, I wouldn't know about this.

 

[Friday Fan]

For all we know both Lina's parents speak Pashto, an eastern Iranian language belonging to the family of Indoeuropean languages. It basically means it has nothing in common with Arabic which is a Semitic language from the Afro-Asiatic branch of languages, a totally different and quite distant spot on the great tree of languages. It might be that the dialect of Pashto used by Lina's mom is particularly rare, I don't know, but Pashto as such is one of the most commonly used languages in Afghanistan.

Yes, they speak Pashto.
Chief McManus was probably not familiar with the language at one (or two) of the first pressers and called it a "rare Arabic language"...
He might have seen that they wrote in Arabic script, summoned an Arabic translator and ran into difficulty. Pashto is written with Arabic script, as are most Kurdish languages, Persian and Urdu. Pashto has 14 extra characters than Arabic. (Prior to WWI, Turkish was written in Arabic script.)

Their family friend says they simply speak Pashto. He was a bit miffed that the Arabic thing survived two press conferences.

_______________________________________________________________



5 Interesting Facts About Pashto

 

[OldCop]

Reportedly, Mom said at first, she thought Lina might be with another Afghan family. I think that when Mom took the 2 yr old back to the apt., she thought Lina would continue playing with the friends she was with at the time.

Mom was surprised that Lina was not with them anymore, apparently.

So when we look at the 3 scenarios you listed above, I'd dismiss the 1st one, which you also said is doubtful. I don't think a total outsider would be looking at her as a 'possibility' if she was playing in a group of kids. They'd think Mom Wass right there somewhere close.

But the other 2 are possibilities because someone who lived there or knew people there, might have known that her Mom briefly walked away. They might have seen an opportunity because of that vulnerable moment.

And it is even more likely/possible if it was someone who was familiar to the family, because they could communicate with a shy girl easier, especially if they were Afghani also. I am not saying they were---just saying it would haver been easier for them to communicate with her.

Of course, if it was just a grab and go scenario, because she was alone, out by the parking lot, it wouldn't matter about the language barrier or the shyness at all.

I keep going ‘round and ‘round on who the abductor was, too.
The stranger abduction: From what we know, no one has reported seeing a child struggling with a stranger, but, many a pedophile has lured children away with enticements like candy, a puppy/kitty etc. without drawing attention to the act. From what we understand, Lina does not speak English, so this stranger could not lure her by speaking to her, it would have to be a grab and go situation, unless it was an Afghan man who spoke to her and convinced her to go with him. That abductor would have had to know she was Afghan.
A non Afghan abductor would likely be a resident or worker who had targeted Lina, or a pedophile who did not target Lina specifically, but was on the hunt, (a crime of opportunity), but this abductor was able to commit his act without drawing attention to himself.
Pedophiles will stalk playgrounds looking for any easy target. However, the play area at Lina’s complex or the one next door that she was known to visit were not public play areas and not really visible from the main street. This leads us back to residents, workers, or someone familiar with these complexes.
It has been reported that the gates to the complex are left open, so it is not impossible that someone might cruise through looking for a target, but it is not likely that a stranger would park and get out of their vehicle to go to the interior areas.
If Lina did decide to go to the playground at the neighboring complex that she was very familiar with, the area where she might cut through the opening in the fence would require her to walk through parking areas in both complexes. That area is also furthest from the main entrances so a grab there may be undetected. I’ve posted an aerial view to show what I’m talking about.
There was some discussion up thread about which play area she actually disappeared from, but I’m pretty sure it was the one in their own complex. The first news reports with her father were filmed by the play area at their complex and the statement that Lina walked down a path and around a corner making mom believe she was headed to their apartment seems to indicate she was last seen at their own complex.
My conclusion? Still not sure…….

 

[Seattle1]

I keep going ‘round and ‘round on who the abductor was, too.
The stranger abduction: From what we know, no one has reported seeing a child struggling with a stranger, but, many a pedophile has lured children away with enticements like candy, a puppy/kitty etc. without drawing attention to the act. From what we understand, Lina does not speak English, so this stranger could not lure her by speaking to her, it would have to be a grab and go situation, unless it was an Afghan man who spoke to her and convinced her to go with him. That abductor would have had to know she was Afghan.
A non Afghan abductor would likely be a resident or worker who had targeted Lina, or a pedophile who did not target Lina specifically, but was on the hunt, (a crime of opportunity), but this abductor was able to commit his act without drawing attention to himself.
Pedophiles will stalk playgrounds looking for any easy target. However, the play area at Lina’s complex or the one next door that she was known to visit were not public play areas and not really visible from the main street. This leads us back to residents, workers, or someone familiar with these complexes.
It has been reported that the gates to the complex are left open, so it is not impossible that someone might cruise through looking for a target, but it is not likely that a stranger would park and get out of their vehicle to go to the interior areas.
If Lina did decide to go to the playground at the neighboring complex that she was very familiar with, the area where she might cut through the opening in the fence would require her to walk through parking areas in both complexes. That area is also furthest from the main entrances so a grab there may be undetected. I’ve posted an aerial view to show what I’m talking about.
There was some discussion up thread about which play area she actually disappeared from, but I’m pretty sure it was the one in their own complex. The first news reports with her father were filmed by the play area at their complex and the statement that Lina walked down a path and around a corner making mom believe she was headed to their apartment seems to indicate she was last seen at their own complex.
My conclusion? Still not sure…….

I'm inclined to believe the abductor might even be a resident -- somebody that was familiar with the environment and observed a pattern where late afternoon there'd be unattended children in the play area. I think Lina was raised to believe she could trust adults -- not schooled in "stranger danger." This family thought they'd moved to America -- their paradise and had an expectation that their child would be safe and out of harm's way. MOO

 

[calvinshobbes]

Everyone here wants the safe return of this missing girl. There have been many differing accounts of what happened right before she disappeared. This could be due to language barriers and or other yet unknown reasons. Even a basic fact of her age is not clear. I am keeping an open mind to all possibilities as I believe the police are as well.

 

[GRT]

I've been busy in RL, so haven't been able to keep up. Curious, how many of you think this was an abduction?

I *mostly* think it was an abduction, but there are so many missing pieces that it feels somehow "off." The age discrepancy bothers me because no matter what the culture, everyone knows what a year is. Maybe it's all due to language barriers but it's odd.

 

[Kristin Esq.]

I *mostly* think it was an abduction, but there are so many missing pieces that it feels somehow "off." The age discrepancy bothers me because no matter what the culture, everyone knows what a year is. Maybe it's all due to language barriers but it's odd.

I know there's been a bit of discussion about the age discrepency, but what if she was just big for her age?

There's a child in my son's kindergarten class that I saw in a class picture, I would have sworn he was at least a 3rd grader.

 

[Blondiexoxo]

Do we still not know Lina’s age for certain? I’m sorry, I find it very hard to believe no matter language barriers that no one has been able to clarify if Lina is 3 or 5 yet? This is a confusing and strange discrepancy I can’t move past. It’s been 3 weeks, is there not one single interpreter anywhere that can help with the language barrier. They’ve managed to convey that the mother turned her back and when she returned Lina was gone, but haven’t yet been able to confirm Lina’s age? None of this makes sense to me atall, what are the circumstances so far that makes everyone believe this is an abduction?

 

[Shamrock1]

If the parents lowered her age for increased benefits, I can understand why LE is keeping it quiet. People here want to know the true age to find her, but there’s a very vocal fraction of the population that would have a different perspective. JMO.

 

[Friday Fan]

I don't know how to link a source which needs mod pre-approval....

 

[realanastasia]

I don't know how to link a source which needs mod pre-approval....

Just hit “report” on your message above, which will get it to a moderator, and in the “reason” box that pops up when you hit “report,” you can explain what you want to link and let them take a look before you actually post it.

 

[Friday Fan]

One-time approval received for this specific podcast only.
This particular video has received pre-approval by @Sillybilly.

Baby pictures of Lina, cultural info etc.

 

[tlcya]

Do we still not know Lina’s age for certain? I’m sorry, I find it very hard to believe no matter language barriers that no one has been able to clarify if Lina is 3 or 5 yet? This is a confusing and strange discrepancy I can’t move past. It’s been 3 weeks, is there not one single interpreter anywhere that can help with the language barrier. They’ve managed to convey that the mother turned her back and when she returned Lina was gone, but haven’t yet been able to confirm Lina’s age? None of this makes sense to me atall, what are the circumstances so far that makes everyone believe this is an abduction?

As far as I know, only sleuths have questioned the reported age and expressed that it doesn't align with what her reported height/weight are. I don't think LE has ever indicated they disbelieve this child's age is 3 as reported. If they have called it a discrepancy I would love to see the article/link.

In other words, I don't think LE is going to go out of their way to clear up a discrepancy crime board members feel exists.

 

[nyvictoria]

Do we still not know Lina’s age for certain? I’m sorry, I find it very hard to believe no matter language barriers that no one has been able to clarify if Lina is 3 or 5 yet? This is a confusing and strange discrepancy I can’t move past. It’s been 3 weeks, is there not one single interpreter anywhere that can help with the language barrier. They’ve managed to convey that the mother turned her back and when she returned Lina was gone, but haven’t yet been able to confirm Lina’s age? None of this makes sense to me atall, what are the circumstances so far that makes everyone believe this is an abduction?

The language barrier would have definitely impeded the flow of information that first night and until they brought in the correct translator. Given the demographics, I’m surprised that local LE doesn’t have access to a Translator phone line that would be able to provide immediate assistance.

LE has not released a correction to Lina’s age so 3 is probably her correct age. She may be big for her age. My daughter at 3 was a good 6 inches taller than her 3-4 year old Pre-K classmates and she was the youngest in the class.

The main reason for my belief that Lina was abducted is the fact that her father has been front and center throughout this ordeal. He’s attended the searches and has spoken to media. His heartbreak is very apparent. There’s always the possibility that he’s a good actor but it just doesn’t feel like parental foul play to me. If Lina had wandered away and become lost in the complex, I think she would have been found fairly quickly.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Age 3 or 5, larger or smaller, I don’t care. Let’s just find her!

Where are you sweet child?

amateur opinion and speculation

 

[renarde]

"Lina’s father dug through thick brush longing to uncover any inkling of his daughter’s whereabouts.

“Yes, he did quit his job so he could find his daughter. The fact that it’s been going on this long is just very surprising to all of us,” Allen said."

[...]

"Lina Khil’s disappearance has prompted San Antonio Crime Stoppers to offer a $50,000 reward and the Islamic Center of San Antonio to offer $150,000 for any information leading to her whereabouts.

“This has just been an amazing joint effort by Americans, by Afghani community coming together and just praying for the best outcome,” Allen said."

'We’re hoping we can find something, somewhere': Community volunteers unite to search for Lina Khil | kvue.com