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A recent image unveiling how a baby, taken from his crib nearly 40 years ago, might appear today is reigniting hope in one of Colorado’s longest-standing missing children cases.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has released an age-progressed depiction of Christopher Abeyta, who disappeared from his family’s home in Colorado Springs on July 15, 1986, at just seven months old.
This advanced image, developed through forensic modeling and age-progression technology, illustrates what the child—once blue-eyed and light-brown-haired—could look like now as a 39-year-old adult.
Investigators and the family urge the public to inspect the photo closely, hoping it might trigger a lead to finally solve the mystery.
‘For nearly 40 years, our family has diligently tried to keep Christopher’s story in the spotlight. We hope this updated image will reach someone who can help us uncover the truth about his fate and recognize him if he is alive,’ the Abeyta family stated via NCMEC.
‘We ask everyone to carefully view this new age-progressed picture and share it widely. Just one tip, memory, or piece of information could finally give our family the answers we’ve sought for so long.’
Christopher was last seen on the night of July 14, 1986. His mother, Bernice Abeyta, had laid him down in his crib inside their Colorado Springs home.
When she awoke the next morning, the crib was empty. There were no signs of forced entry or signs of a struggle. His bottle had been left behind.
A newly released image of what Christopher Abeyta might look like today at the age of 39 is offering a glimmer of hope in one of Colorado’s longest-running missing children cases
Born on November 28, 1985, Christopher was a happy baby who brought joy to everyone in the family. His mother Bernice, pictured, called him ‘a doll’ who loved to make people laugh
Born on November 28, 1985, Christopher was the youngest of seven children in a tight-knit, loving household.
By all accounts, he was a happy baby who brought joy to everyone in the family. His mother Bernice called him ‘a doll’ who loved to make people laugh.
His sudden disappearance shattered his family and baffled police.
Despite an immediate search and media coverage, no suspects were ever arrested and the case went cold.
Christopher’s parents, Bernice and Gil Abeyta, insisted their son had been taken.
The FBI became involved, flyers were printed and tips came in from across the country, but Christopher never came home.
Decades later, with no confirmed sightings, the new age-progressed image released is another attempt to show what Christopher might look like as a grown man.
The image was produced using the latest forensic tools by NCMEC, which regularly generates facial reconstructions and aging photos to aid in cold case recoveries.
Christopher was taken from his crib on July 15, 1986, at just seven months old. He has never been found
Christopher’s sudden disappearance shattered his family and baffled police. Despite an immediate search and media coverage, no suspects were ever arrested. The case went cold
Christopher, not pictured, was the youngest of seven children in a tight-knit, loving household
The technique has helped solve numerous long-term missing children cases, and the Abeyta family is hoping it could do the same now.
This renewed campaign comes amid a growing push by cold case investigators, who say the Abeyta disappearance remains open and active within the Colorado Springs Police Department’s homicide and missing persons unit.
In 2016, Bernice Abeyta, then 73, made what would become her final public appeal before her death.
At the time, she was battling cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive gallbladder cancer, and had been told she had only months to live.
‘Of course, I would like to have him back,’ she told ABC News in one of her final interviews. ‘I’ve always felt very positive that even though it’s been 30 years, it would happen.
‘There’s no way we were going to forget him,’ she said. ‘I would reassure him that we love him no matter what, no matter who he is.’
Bernice passed away in 2017 without ever knowing what happened to her baby.
Over the last four decades various age-progressed portraits have been released in the hope Christopher might eventually be found
This photo composite of what Christopher might look like at the age of 27 was produced in 2015, left, and again in 2017, right, showing him how he might appear at the age of 32
Denise Alves, Christopher’s sister, was 15 years old the night he disappeared.
She remembers playing with him in the living room and pretending to sneeze from a bouquet of roses while he giggled.
She fed him his bottle while she and her mother laid him in his crib for the very last time. The following day, he was gone.
‘It changed our family forever,’ Alves said. ‘My mom would cry curled up in a ball, saying, “I need my baby.” But every day, she got up and searched.’
The Abeyta family never stopped searching as they passed out flyers and gave interviews.
Bernice worked with NCMEC and even when the spotlight faded, they kept pushing. ‘She never once passed up an interview about my brother,’ Alves said of her mother. ‘Even when it appeared local law enforcement had given up, she didn’t.’
Before she passed away, Christopher’s mother, Bernice, seen at the age of 73 said her wish was for anyone with information about her son’s disappearance to come forward
Christopher’s family including his now grown-up siblings are seen in a photo from 2009
Police have identified a person of interest in the case, but no arrests have been made. Despite repeated leads over the years, none have panned out.
‘Even after decades, someone out there knows what happened,’ NCMEC officials have said in similar cases. ‘A single photo can jog a memory.’
The Abeytas believe that someone, somewhere, knows something and that after 39 years, there’s still a chance their brother is out there.
The family hopes the campaign may reach someone who grew up wondering about their identity and who might see themselves in the age-progressed face.
‘Maybe he’ll see it,’ Alves said. ‘Maybe someone close to him will. And maybe, finally, we’ll know.’
