Released Today: New age progression of Bianca Lebron

Look closely at this new age progression of a 10-year-old girl who vanished from her elementary school nearly 25 years ago. Can you help police in Bridgeport, Connecticut find Bianca Lebron?

Police released the age progression, created by a forensic artist at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), at a press conference today across the street from the former Elias Howe School where Bianca was last seen at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2001.

Bridgeport Homicide Detective Laura Azevedo-Rasuk, the lead investigator, said she has “persons of interest” in what is still an active investigation and a “strong lead” about who was driving the van that Bianca left school in that day.

“There’s some hope that Bianca is still alive,” Homicide Detective Jeffrey Holtz told reporters gathered in the biting cold. “Bianca Lebron could be the victim of a homicide. She could also be a missing person who is out there and still alive.”

Police Chief Roderick Porter said the case, which he still remembers vividly, had a huge impact on the community. Anytime you have a child missing from a school, we need to bring resolution to the family.

Photo of Bianca at 10; age progression to now.

On the day she vanished, school was about to start when Bianca told her teacher she had to speak with her uncle before class. The fifth-grader confided in some classmates that her uncle was going to take her shopping at a local mall and invited them to come along. They declined.

The little girl with brown hair and hazel eyes was last seen getting into a two-toned brown van with tinted windows driven by a man with dark hair and a beard.

When she didn’t come home after school, her parents thought she may have gone to a friend’s house and didn’t become worried until later that evening. When they learned she hadn’t been in school all day, they quickly reported her missing to police.

Her parents have said Bianca, who loved to go shopping, was a good student, and it was out of character for her to skip school. And in a frightening twist, the family said Bianca didn’t have an uncle. Who was the man that she planned to meet? Bianca has never been seen again.

Bianca is Hispanic and has a birthmark on her forehead. She would be 34 years old today.

Her family has watched her grow up through the six age progressions that have been created since her disappearance. When a child is missing, NCMEC creates age progressions every two years until that child turns 18, then every five.

Colin McNally works on age progression showing what Bianca my look like now. (Photo credit: Claire Edkins, NCMEC)

Colin McNally, supervisor of NCMEC’s forensic unit, created the new image and several of the earlier ones. He said Bianca’s family provided family photos and helpful insights into what she might look like today. For many families, the process can be very emotional.

“I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to look at someone’s interpretation of what your child looks like,” said McNally.  “It’s always hard emotionally, even for us.”

The goal is to spark some recognition and offer hope that the child can be found. Of the more than 8,000 age progressions NCMEC has done, there have been 1,800 recoveries in cases in which one was produced. Many of those have generated tips that directly led to a recovery.

If you recognize Bianca in the age progression, please call Bridgeport Police at 1-203-576-7671 or NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

You can view Bianca’s missing poster here: https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/923729/1.