Disappearance of Arianna Fitts

Last updated
Arianna Fitts
Arianna Fitts.jpg
Photograph age-progessed to 8 years old
Born (2013-09-06) September 6, 2013 (age 11)
DisappearedApril 5, 2016 (aged 2)
Oakland, California US
Status Missing for 8 years, 5 months and 3 days
Height2 ft 0 in (0.61 m)
MotherNicole Fitts (deceased)
Website ariannafitts.com

Arianna Fitts [1] (born September 6, 2013) is an American child missing since 2016. Arianna and her mother, Nicole Fitts (then aged 32), were reported missing on April 5, 2016, in San Francisco, California. Nicole was last seen on April 1, 2016, and Arianna has not been seen since mid-February 2016. Arianna is still missing, while her mother's body was discovered buried in McLaren Park on April 8, 2016. [2]

Contents

Background

Both mother and daughter have ties to San Mateo, Oakland, Fresno, Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley and regularly visited Southern California. [3]

Family members of the Fitts alerted San Francisco Police on April 5, 2016 that Nicole and Arianna Fitts were missing and Nicole Fitts was last seen on April 1 after receiving a phone call to meet her daughter's babysitter. [4] She was believed to have traveled from her job at a Best Buy store on Harrison Street via a Municipal Railway Vehicle on the Third Street Corridor around 9:45 pm, wearing a blue Best Buy shirt, [2] however, it appears she traveled from her newly established residence in San Francisco. Her daughter Arianna, was last seen in late February in Oakland, California.

On April 8, a gardener in the John McLaren Park discovered a large piece of wood resting behind a clump of ivy covered bushes with an odd silver character painted on it. Underneath the wood, the body of Nicole Fitts was discovered in a fetal position, in an uncovered, but previously covered by the wood, shallow grave. [5] After her body was discovered, police focused their attention on the individuals who watched Arianna while her mother commuted 2 hours to go to work.

Search for the missing child

Efforts are ongoing to locate the missing toddler. [6] [7] The police investigated homes in Emeryville, Oakland, and Daly City, California and cited that those who had last seen Fitts were uncooperative with the initial interview process. [8] Police identified three people of interest at a press conference, who were named as Helena and Devin Martin and Siolo Hearne. [9] The sisters of Nicole Fitts told media outlets that they still believe that Arianna is alive, and one told reporters that she believed; "Someone wanted Arianna as their own [child]." [10]

The family created a website to highlight the search, and offered a $10,000 USD reward to anyone with information that may help them locate Arianna and her safe return. [11] Best Buy also offered a $10,000 USD reward for direct information regarding Arianna. [12] [13] In 2021, police raised the reward for information about Arianna to $100,000 USD. [14] In 2022, San Francisco and the FBI announced the increase of the reward for leads to $250,000. [15] There are several established tiplines to report tips and remain anonymous that are listed on the website the family created.

In April 2021 San Francisco Police released a rendering of a forensic sketch of Arianna that had been age progressed to 7-years-old, along with two crime bulletins to the public. [16]

Media depictions

In February 2020, her case was profiled on crime podcast The Vanished . The Vanished is a podcast featuring missing people and their cases. [17] The case was also profiled on another crime podcast Inside the FBI in June 2021 and the podcast was promoted on the FBI's Twitter page in an effort to reach more people who could help in the case. [18] In November 2022, the Crime Junkie podcast profiled this case. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Laci Peterson</span> 2002 murder of an American woman in California

Laci Denise Peterson was an American woman murdered by her husband, Scott Lee Peterson, while eight months pregnant with their first child. On December 24, 2002, Scott reported Laci missing from their home in Modesto, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Polly Klaas</span> American murder case

Polly Hannah Klaas is an American murder victim whose case garnered national media attention. On October 1, 1993, at age twelve, she was kidnapped at knifepoint during a slumber party at her mother's home in Petaluma, California, and strangled to death. Richard Allen Davis was convicted of her murder in 1996 and sentenced to death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Kristin Smart</span> 1996 murder in California, United States

Kristin Denise Smart was a 19-year-old American woman murdered by Paul Flores at the end of her first year on the campus of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Christina Marie Williams</span> 1998 child murder in Seaside, California

Christina Marie Williams was a 13-year-old American girl who was kidnapped in Seaside, California, on June 12, 1998, while walking her dog Greg in an area of Fort Ord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph James DeAngelo</span> American serial killer and serial rapist (born 1945)

Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. is an American serial killer, serial rapist, burglar, peeping tom, former police officer and mechanic who committed at least 13 murders, 51 rapes, and 120 burglaries across California between 1974 and 1986. He is responsible for three known separate crime sprees throughout the state, each of which spawned a different nickname in the press, before it became evident that they were committed by the same person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Amy Mihaljevic</span> 1989 murder of an American schoolgirl

Amy Renee Mihaljevic was a ten-year-old American elementary school student who was kidnapped and murdered in the U.S. state of Ohio in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesa Boudin</span> 29th District Attorney of San Francisco (2020–2022, recalled)

Chesa Boudin is an American lawyer who served as the 29th District Attorney of San Francisco from January 8, 2020, to July 8, 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Sandra Cantu</span> Murder of young American girl

Sandra Renee Cantu was an American girl who gained national attention after she disappeared from Tracy, California, on March 27, 2009. Her body was discovered ten days later inside a suitcase in a local irrigation pond. On April 10, police arrested a local woman, 28-year-old Melissa Huckaby, and charged her with the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Cantu. Huckaby pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of Cantu and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Gascón</span> American lawyer and police officer (born 1954)

George Gascón is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former member of the Republican Party, Gascón served as the district attorney of San Francisco from 2011 to 2019. Prior to his work as a prosecutor, he was an assistant chief of police for the LAPD, and Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona and San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Michaela Garecht</span> 1988 kidnapping in Hayward, California

Michaela Joy Garecht was nine years old when she was abducted in Hayward, California, in broad daylight at the corner of Mission Boulevard and Lafayette Avenue. Sketches of Garecht's abductor were distributed along with missing person flyers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area within 24 hours of her disappearance, but search efforts proved fruitless. Her case was featured in national media, including profiles on the documentary series Unsolved Mysteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilgo Beach serial killings</span> American serial killer case

The Gilgo Beach serial killings were a series of murders spanning from the early 1990s until 2011. Many of the victims' remains were found over a period of months in 2010 and 2011 during a police search of the area along Ocean Parkway, near the remote beach town of Gilgo in Suffolk County, New York. The search was prompted by the disappearance of Shannan Gilbert, who, like many of the known victims, was an escort who advertised on Craigslist. The perpetrator in the case is known as the Long Island Serial Killer, the Manorville Butcher, or the Craigslist Ripper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Brianna Maitland</span> Unsolved 2004 disappearance of 17-year-old from Vermont

Brianna Alexandra Maitland is an American missing person who disappeared at the age of 17 after leaving her job at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont. Her car was discovered the following day, backed into the side of an abandoned house about a mile (1.6 km) away from her workplace. Maitland has not been seen or heard from since. Due to a confluence of circumstances, several days passed before Maitland's friends and family reported her missing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Breed</span> 45th mayor of San Francisco, California (born 1974)

London Nicole Breed is an American politician who is the 45th and current mayor of San Francisco, serving since 2018. She was supervisor for District 5 and was president of the Board of Supervisors from 2015 to 2018.

Nicole Daedone is an American writer and business executive. She founded and became the CEO of OneTaste in the San Francisco Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of William Tyrrell</span> Unsolved 2014 missing-person case

William Tyrrell is an Australian boy who disappeared at the age of three from Kendall, New South Wales, on 12 September 2014. He had been playing at his foster grandmother's house with his sister, and was wearing a Spider-Man suit at the time of his disappearance. For the first seven years of the investigation, Tyrrell was believed to have been abducted. On 12 September 2016, a reward of A$1 million was offered for the recovery of Tyrrell and did not require the arrest, charging or conviction of any person or persons.

The kidnapping of Amber Swartz-Garcia occurred on June 3, 1988, in Pinole, California when she was seven years old. She had been playing jump rope in her front yard when she was abducted. Curtis Dean Anderson, a convicted kidnapper, confessed to kidnapping and killing Swartz-Garcia shortly before his 2007 death, but doubts remain about his involvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Mekayla Bali</span> Disappearance of Canadian high school student

The disappearance of Mekayla Bali is an unsolved criminal case from Canada. Bali disappeared from her hometown of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada on April 12, 2016. She was last seen between 1:00 and 1:45 p.m. at a local bus stop. Despite several reported sightings, no definitive clues to Bali's whereabouts have been found since then and her fate is currently unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheng Thao</span> American politician (born 1985)

Sheng Thao is an American politician who is the 51st and current mayor of Oakland, California. She is the first Hmong American mayor of a major city in the United States. She was elected as mayor of Oakland in November 2022 and started her term in January 2023.

Cynthia Martyna Bah-Traore is an American woman who disappeared on the evening of February 3, 2021. Her whereabouts remain unknown. She was last seen on Shell Gas station's surveillance footage located at 1003 E Criner St. Grandview, Texas 76050. Bah-Traore was last seen wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt, black pants, gray with white shoes, and carrying a red purse with plaid markings. She was driving a Mazda CX-5 Texas license plate NMJ 3883. Her phone was reportedly discovered at the gas station. Cynthia's son reported that his mother never returned home after running errands. Cynthia has two children. At the time of her disappearance, Bah-Traore was living in Crowley, Texas, and her case is being investigated by the Crowley Police Department. There is also an FBI agent assigned to the case.

References

  1. "Arianna Fitts". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  2. 1 2 "SF police release new info in search for missing girl, mother's homicide". ABC7 San Francisco. 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  3. Harris, Chris (April 12, 2016). "2-Year-Old Daughter of Apparent Homicide Victim Missing, San Francisco Police Seeking Public's Help". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  4. "San Francisco police search for missing, at-risk toddler". ABC7 San Francisco. 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  5. Sawyer, Nuala (2018-07-26). "Where Is Arianna Fitts? - July 26, 2018 - SF Weekly". SF Weekly. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  6. Sawyer, Nuala (26 July 2008). "Where Is Arianna Fitts?". SF Weekly . Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  7. Jones, Erica (29 June 2016). "'Hit the Share Button': Maryland Sisters-In-Law Work to Find Missing People of Color". WRC-TV NBC, Washington D.C. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  8. Lamb, Jonah Owen (May 18, 2016). "SFPD renews pleas for help in finding missing toddler". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  9. Barmann, Jay (May 19, 2016). "Babysitters Suspected In Disappearance Of 2-Year-Old Whose Mother Was Killed As $10K Reward Is Offered". SFist. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  10. Woodrow, Melanie (2016-11-26). "Family of missing San Francisco girl believes she's still alive". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  11. Evans, Alexandra (2017-04-03). "Vigil Held For Missing Toddler And Slain Mother - San Francisco News". San Francisco News. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  12. FOX. "Reward offered in San Francisco missing toddler case". KTVU. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  13. Serna, Joseph (19 May 2016). "Weeks after Bay Area mother is found in shallow grave, toddler remains missing, police say". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  14. "Police offer $100K in Bay Area child missing 5 years". abc10.com. April 9, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  15. "Reward Increased in Unsolved Case of Mother Found Buried in SF Park, Missing Daughter". NBC Bay Area. April 1, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  16. "SF Police Release Updated Sketch of Arianna Fitts 5 Years After She Went Missing". NBC Bay Area. April 8, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-08. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  17. "EPISODE 217: Arianna Fitts". The Vanished Podcast. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  18. Colorado, Melissa (June 22, 2021). "FBI Podcast Brings Arianna Fitts' Disappearance Back Into the Spotlight". NBC Bay Area. Archived from the original on 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  19. "MISSING: Arianna Fitts". 14 November 2022.