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

[Psychic Sleuth]

Mum was in the parking lot.

Lina was in the parking lot.

BBM

"Lina was running up and down some stairs with other children when she went past the pavilion and into the parking lot near a large tree. The apartment building blocked her mother’s line of sight, Mangal said, but she expected Lina to emerge from the other side as she had many times before. When Lina did not reappear, her mother went to find her."

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

Photo showing the pavilion (circled), the steps, the large tree and the parking lot.

 

[OldCop]

"Lina was running up and down some stairs with other children when she went past the pavilion and into the parking lot near a large tree. The apartment building blocked her mother’s line of sight, Mangal said, but she expected Lina to emerge from the other side as she had many times before. When Lina did not reappear, her mother went to find her."

A little tidbit of info that we did not know before.

Would the pavilion be that covered area?

It really helps me when I can see the areas people are talking about in a case. I have added a couple of Google Earth photos which show the steps, the pavilion, the play area, and the parking lot. I’ve also added a photo taken by MSM when Lina’s father was at the play area. It shows a bench.
IMO I believe Lina’s mom may have been sitting on the bench. She is pregnant, has a 2 year old, and Lina. She is probably tired. If she was sitting on the bench, she could probably see Lina on the steps to her back left. Once Lina went past the pavilion, Mom probably couldn’t see her anymore. By her own admission she was not immediately concerned because Lina always returned when she went off that way.

 

[OldCop]

Photo showing the pavilion (circled), the steps, the large tree and the parking lot.

One step ahead of me, @Psychic Sleuth.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

Photo showing the pavilion (circled), the steps, the large tree and the parking lot.

Looking at this photo, it's so hard to imagine a child just disappearing right there. She had to have gone into an apartment or a vehicle and with no witnesses.

 

[AliceInPain]

If the children were running up and down stairs and messing with some night shift worker's sleep I can see an ugly scenario here.
Absolutely not blaming the kids or their parents, many people are not aware of this. I had my sleep severely interrupted by neighbours for two years, and I got really aggressive - I'm not an aggressive person at all. It's a kind of torture, and you get mentally messed up.
Just a thought after reading the latest article.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

We still don't know which apartment Lina lived in?

 

[OldCop]

We still don't know which apartment Lina lived in?

Not as far as I know. Early reports stated that the play area was about 40 ft from the entrance to their building. Using the rough measurement tool in Google maps, it shows that the building next to the steps is 41 feet from the play area.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

More from the link. It's a fairly long article:

The playground is a small, square, fenced-in area next to a soccer court and an elevated pavilion with a wood canopy. Three side-by-side stainless-steel barbecue pits stand on an elevated concrete portion of the pavilion next to trees and a parking lot. Part of the black chain-link fence around the playground appears to have been forced down some time ago.
...
Lina’s mother thought her daughter might have slipped past her and gone back to their apartment, but Lina was not there either.

Khil said he returned home and searched Villas del Cabo and a neighboring apartment complex, which are separated by a wooden fence.​

Surviving the atrocities of war just to disappear in the United States: Lina Sardar Khil still missing after three weeks

The article also talks about Lina and her mother returning to Afghanistan to help a relative. Lina was knocked unconscious when a suicide bomber detonated nearby.

What a horrific history for this family.

BBM

"Lina’s mother thought her daughter might have slipped past her and gone back to their apartment, but Lina was not there either."

This makes it sound like Lina's apartment is back the other way, past the pavilion, steps and play area.

I just don't see a child that age voluntarily separating from the other children that she was playing with and venturing far by herself. I believe that what ever happened to make her disappear, happened really close to the other side of the pavilion/parking lot area. MOO

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

Borrowing OldCop's wonderful photo

I believe Mom was probably sitting in the "play area" in this photo. Lina and the other children were playing on the steps by the pavilion where Mom could see her. The kids went out of sight into the parking lot area. When Lina didn't reappear with the other children, Mom went to find her. She was not in the parking lot, so Mom thought maybe she slipped past her heading back the other way towards their apartment and went to look for her there.

IMHO this gives us a much better visual of how things happened. If Mom was sitting in the play area and Lina went to that parking lot, the apartment to the right of the pavilion would have blocked her view.

 

[Tower]

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.

RSBM
I work with a translator line (in a hospital) that provides hundreds of languages, but this family’s language from rural Afghanistan is not one of the options. Especially for countries with less-standard education than the US, the people may not be fluent in a national language. For me personally, I have had difficulty communicating with some folks from rural areas in the Philippines because their specific dialect was not included in our translating services.[/QUOTE]

 

[Allabouttrial]

Lina was in the parking lot.

BBM

"Lina was running up and down some stairs with other children when she went past the pavilion and into the parking lot near a large tree. The apartment building blocked her mother’s line of sight, Mangal said, but she expected Lina to emerge from the other side as she had many times before. When Lina did not reappear, her mother went to find her."

Thank you. Seeing the images and reading the quote again, I agree it was Lina who went onto the parking lot.

I think I had it in my head that her mum walked away because originally that's what was stated in MSM.

 

[katydid23]

That parking lot gives me the chills. It is surrounded by thick trees, and so it is well camouflaged. Someone could easily grab a child without being seen.

Until recently, I thought she was lured into an apartment by someone who knew the family. But now I am leaning towards random opportunity predator, which is the most difficult case to solve.

 

[happyday]

I just don't see a child that age voluntarily separating from the other children that she was playing with and venturing far by herself. I believe that what ever happened to make her disappear, happened really close to the other side of the pavilion/parking lot area. MOO

Me either! This has boggled my mind all along and even more now with these details. It sounds like the kids were running around, playing together. What did the other kids see when they went past the pavilion/to parking lot? They had to have seen something—a car? A person standing there? Did not one of them notice Lina not coming back with them? Perhaps they were playing something like hide and seek? This is the only thing I can think of that would make sense for her to go further, alone, and the other kids not noticing right away that she was gone. I do realize they’re little kids, and they can be completely oblivious. She could have been hiding in the parking lot and someone snatched her into a car, or could she have been run over and the person panicked and took her with them? But I would think there would be some evidence of a hit and run.

It’s just so mind boggling and horrifying that she could disappear in the midst of so many people. Ugh.

 

[katydid23]

Me either! This has boggled my mind all along and even more now with these details. It sounds like the kids were running around, playing together. What did the other kids see when they went past the pavilion/to parking lot? They had to have seen something—a car? A person standing there? Did not one of them notice Lina not coming back with them? Perhaps they were playing something like hide and seek? This is the only thing I can think of that would make sense for her to go further, alone, and the other kids not noticing right away that she was gone. I do realize they’re little kids, and they can be completely oblivious. She could have been hiding in the parking lot and someone snatched her into a car, or could she have been run over and the person panicked and took her with them? But I would think there would be some evidence of a hit and run.

It’s just so mind boggling and horrifying that she could disappear in the midst of so many people. Ugh.

I think the other kids would be oblivious unless they were much older. If she had been with older cousins or sibs they may have felt protective but younger kids are pretty oblivious. JMO

 

[Puzzles]

If she disappeared around 5pm, why wait until 7:15 to call the police? I'm honestly just curious, is there something I'm missing?

Perhaps calling 911 at 7:15 can be explained by considering one, or a combination of the following:

- Time required for the parents to search thoroughly for Nina in their apartment, and all around the complex, as well as calling or visiting families known to them with the hope Lina was safe in their care may have been extensive.
Add to that, the time it took even to think of which families to contact, and find their phone numbers or addresses, perhaps known to the mom, but not the dad, and attend to Lina's wee sibling – all when experiencing intense fear and panic.

- Psychological denial to consider Lina was possibly abducted could delay a call to 911.

- Nefarious practices by authorities in one's country of origin may have caused reluctance to voluntarily seek, or even expect assistance from them in the US.

- Cultural expectations/demands would have a mother wait until the father made the decision to call authorities when a child was missing, and Lina's father was not at home when Lina went missing.
It would also take time for the mom to explain what was happening at the time Lina disappeared, and for the dad to absorb the details, and plan what he should do, and when, and how.

His prime goal would have been to find Lina, and therefore he searched for her, himself, before calling 911.

I understand.

 

[Turkeytrot]

San Antonio police searching for missing 8-year-old boy

Isn't this just a few miles from Lina's apartment complex?

Eta photo - just under 5 miles

 

[tlcya]

San Antonio police searching for missing 8-year-old boy

Isn't this just a few miles from Lina's apartment complex?

Eta photo - just under 5 miles

San Antonio police say an 8-year-old boy who was reported missing on Thursday has been located safely on Friday.

Thank goodness

 

[OldCop]

San Antonio police searching for missing 8-year-old boy

Isn't this just a few miles from Lina's apartment complex?

Eta photo - just under 5 miles

There is a report that he has been found safe.

 

[Friday Fan]

DBM...Boy has been found safe. Original story was updated by KSAT.

He was probably with a friend or relative etc.