7-Year-Old Found Starving in Cupboard: Police Launch Hunt for Missing Sister

The baffling case of Ava Marie Gonzales, who vanished at age two, was brought back to light last year when her sibling, aged seven, was discovered malnourished and locked in a closet.

An urgent search has been initiated for a child who has been missing for nearly eight years following the shocking discovery of her sister locked in a wardrobe and suffering from severe malnutrition.

Ava Marie Gonzales was first reported missing in December 2017 when she was just two years old. The mystery of her disappearance continued until the previous year when her sister, just seven years old, was found emaciated and locked in a closet at their residence.

The distressing condition of the young girl was revealed through a 911 call, as stated in an arrest warrant affidavit reported by ABC News. She was found “malnourished, soiled, and barricaded in a bedroom closet” and was immediately taken to a hospital for care.

She is presently in recovery. This week, the Austin Police Department has issued a public plea for assistance in locating Ava, who would now be nine years old.

Detective Russell Constable voiced his concern for Ava’s safety, especially given the dire circumstances surrounding her sister’s discovery.

As per a report by the Mirror, he stated: “The Austin Police Department is seeking the community’s assistance to locate Ava Marie Gonzales. Our detectives are deeply worried about Ava’s wellbeing, considering the situation in which her sibling was found.”

The child had been confined to the closet for about a month, reportedly receiving only a hot dog or corn dog each morning for sustenance. She weighed a mere 29 pounds when she was rescued and taken to the hospital.

This horrifying situation came to light when her grandmother visited the home and immediately contacted the authorities upon discovering her condition. Last month, Ava’s mother, Virginia Gonzales, was arrested and faces charges related to injury to a child and serious bodily injury concerning the seven-year-old.

During their investigation, authorities found six other children in the home, all of whom appeared physically healthy.

Efforts to identify Ava’s father are ongoing. Virginia Gonzales is currently detained on a £56,484 bond, according to records from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

Meanwhile, the police have circulated an age-progressed photograph of what Ava might look like today. She is described as a Hispanic female with straight brown hair and brown eyes.

This plea follows an incident in Michigan where a mother was detained after her three children were found living in extremely poor conditions, amid heaps of trash and waste. The unnamed 34-year-old was arrested when her children, a 15-year-old boy and two girls aged 12 and 13, were found in grossly unsanitary conditions at their Pontiac home in February.

Officers conducted a welfare check following a tip from the landlord who hadn’t seen the mother since December, and rent had been unpaid since October. The children reported they had been abandoned by their mother either in 2020 or 2021, surviving on their own since then.

The conditions inside the dwelling were appalling, filled with human waste, mold, and trash accumulated up to four feet high in some areas. The children were also unfamiliar with basic hygiene practices, such as using toiletries or flushing the toilet, and had not attended school since being left alone.

The girls had not left the house for years, sleeping on old pizza boxes, while the older boy slept on a mattress on the floor. Their days were spent watching TV and playing games. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard described the living conditions as “deplorable and intolerable even for an animal.”