A large group of volunteers has joined the search for a missing 3-year-old girl in San Antonio, as a law enforcement official made remarks that raise questions about the investigation’s focus.
As previously reported, Lina Khil disappeared on December 20 while she was at a playground in her building’s apartment complex in San Antonio. Her mother reportedly separated from the girl briefly, while other adults and children were at the playground, before returning to find that her daughter was no longer there.
KSAT reports that Eagles Flight Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that supports families of children with disabilities and advocates for abused and missing children, organized a search of approximately 150 volunteers on Sunday. There have been no reports that Lina had been diagnosed with any disability or any reports of abuse. The volunteers focused on a greenbelt area behind St. George Maronite Catholic Church on Babcock Road, according to KSAT.
Also on Sunday, authorities in Texas issued a 13th AMBER Alert in connection to Linda’s disappearance, indicating that officials have renewed the AMBER Alert every day since Lina went missing. Police have said they continue to treat the investigation as a missing person’s case, KSAT reports. But the outlet also quoted San Antonio Police Chief William McManus suggesting that police may have a suspect or suspects in mind.
“I will say that we’re looking at some people, yes, but I won’t get into it deeper than that,” McManus reportedly said last week. It is unclear from the report why his comments were not published until Sunday.
Typically, AMBER Alerts are issued for missing children when police have a suspect and/or vehicle description, though standards can vary from state to state. Police have said from the start of the investigation that Lina’s parents have been cooperative. The family reportedly migrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2019, and speak a rare Afghan dialect. The family is communicating with investigators through an interpreter.
San Antonio Police spokesperson Officer Shuler declined on Monday to further elaborate on the police chief’s recent comments about “looking at some people,” and reiterated that police are still treating Lina’s disappearance as a missing persons investigation. Asked if police suspect foul play in the 3-year-old girl’s disappearance, Shuler said investigators have not ruled anything out, as Lina remains missing. He reiterated that the investigation is ongoing and active, and directed questions about the continued AMBER Alert to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
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