Melissa Highsmith Bio – Melissa Highsmith Wiki
Melissa Highsmith was abducted as a toddler in Texas in 1971. For nearly as long as he can remember, Jeff Highsmith has been searching for a sister he’s never met. His mother did not speak of baby Melissa, who was picked up by a babysitter on a hot August day in 1971 and hasn’t been seen since.
AGE:
Melissa Highsmith, 22-month-old, when was missing.
DETAIL OF INCIDENCE:
A Texas family has new hope that their 22-month-old daughter, who was kidnapped five decades ago, is still alive — and is living 1,100 miles away from where she was last seen in 1971.
Melissa Highsmith was just a toddler when her 22-year-old mother placed an ad seeking a daytime babysitter in the paper. According to Live 5 News, a nicely-dressed woman wearing white gloves came to the family’s Fort Worth, Tex., home. After she was hired, the mystery babysitter took Melissa and never returned her.
The family called the police, but the case went cold. The babysitter remains unidentified.
The Highsmith family has never given up hope. They maintain a Facebook group hoping someone will spot Melissa, who will turn 53 next month.
On September 9, the family may have gotten the break they’d been waiting for. A tipster saw age-progressed photos of Melissa and contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, claiming to have seen her on Daniel Island in South Carolina.
Melissa’s father and brother have flown more than 1,100 miles to hand out fliers and host vigils in the hopes of finding the unidentified woman. They have several volunteers who are helping them look.
“We hope that she is here on Daniel Island and tonight we’re getting a group together to pray that she’s finally returned to her family reunited and that her parents who are now in her 70s can get some peace knowing that she’s safe and sound,” Melissa Engdahl, a family volunteer, tells ABC News 4.
In a news release to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children urged the public to speak up if they have any tips.
“Even though we don’t know if this tip will lead to answers, we know law enforcement is working steadfastly and we hope that his information and the renewed attention the public has for Melissa will continue to bring awareness that she is still missing,” writes John Bischoff, vice president of the missing children division at NCMEC. “We know that answers are always possible. The public is vital to bringing home missing children and we know that it only takes one person to see the right thing, report it and help bring a missing child home.”
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Melissa Highsmith is urged to contact the family through the Facebook group.