The FBI is offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to the location of a missing teenager.
Lumberton Police and the FBI held a press conference on Tuesday to provide an update on the search for missing 13-year-old Hania Noelia Aguilar.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has sent Aguilar’s information across its business network in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee, Lumberton Police Chief Mike McNeil said in the press conference. “That means that every travel-related business, including truck stops, received Hania’s poster and were asked to print it out and post it inside their businesses. I ask every local business in Lumberton to do the same thing.”
According to FBI officials, who spoke during the press conference, the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment, or “CARD,” team arrived yesterday afternoon. The FBI also announced a $15,000 reward for information leading to Aguilar’s return.
An updated missing person poster for Aguilar says the award is “for information that leads investigators to the location” of the teen.
Aguilar’s missing person poster in English can be downloaded here. A poster in Spanish can be downloaded here.
Aguilar’s mother asked FBI and police to share the following message to Aguilar:
“I just want my daughter back with me. I’m here waiting for you. I love you and only care about you, and I don’t have anything against whoever did this to you. I just want you back.“
Aguilar was starting her aunt’s vehicle outside the home in the Rosewood Mobile Home Park ahead of going to school just before 7 a.m. Monday morning, according to police. A man wearing a yellow bandana over his face forced the young girl into the SUV and kidnapped her. Lumberton police say the vehicle is a stolen Green 2002 Ford Expedition with a South Carolina license plate NWS 984.
An AMBER Alert was issued just after 10 a.m. Monday for Aguilar. No strong description was given of the teen’s abductor.
The 911 call to report Hania’s abduction was made by a neighbor when a relative ran over to get help,” a press release from the FBI says. The call came into the Robeson County Communications Center at 6:54 a.m. on Monday.
“A female caller speaking Spanish was on the line, the Robeson County dispatcher quickly requested a Spanish translator to join the call. Initial reports during the 911 described the abductor as a black male,” states this release. “During follow-up interviews, investigators determined the witness had not seen the race of the abductor because he was wearing all black, including long sleeves, and a yellow bandana over his face. The information was transferred to the Lumberton Police Department who received the call at 6:58 a.m.”
According to a post on the Lumberton Police Department’s Facebook page, Aguilar is about five feet tall and about 126 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Around 6:54 a.m., Aguilar “grabbed her aunt’s keys to crank up her vehicle to prepare to leave for the bus stop,” says the post. “Witnessed by another family member, an unknown male wearing a yellow bandana over his face approached and grabbed Hania Aguilar and forced her into the green 2002 Ford Expedition and fled the area.”
“The vehicle, belonging to Hania Aguilar’s aunt, has South Carolina registration NWS984,” adds the post. “The vehicle has paint peeling from the hood and a Clemson sticker on the rear window. Suspect race and description is not known. Both vehicle and Hania Aguilar are entered into NCIC and an Amber Alert has already been issued.”
A release from the FBI says Aguilar was last seen wearing a blue shirt with flowers and blue jeans.
Investigators with the Lumberton Police Dept., Robeson Co. Sheriff’s Office, FBI agents and SBI agents are following nearly 50 leads, according to a release from the FBI. Additional resources from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and other agencies are set to join the investigation Tuesday.
More information can be found on the FBI’s website here.
Anyone who sees Aguilar or the stolen vehicle, or who as any information, is urged to call the Lumberton Police Department at 910-671-3845 or call 911.
