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Families want answers about their missing relatives

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Natalie Padilla has been missing her daughter Anastasia Ferriera since May 15, 2023. Anastasia is now 20. “I just try to get through each day and keep looking for her,” Padilla said. More than 400 days have passed. Yet nothing haunts her mother like day number one. “It doesn’t feel real,” Padilla said. “It’s like a dream. It really feels like a dream. I don’t feel like it’s been that long.” The New Mexico Department of Safety website currently lists nearly 800 people from New Mexico as missing. Anastasia Ferriera’s name is still among them. Although Padilla is her mother and did everything local police asked her to, she says investigators aren’t saying much about what they found. The Albuquerque Police Department has been investigating Anastasia’s disappearance since last May. Her family says police only told them her phone was last located on March 16, 2023, at 8011 Central Avenue NE. The family didn’t learn about it until nearly a year later. Target 7 asked APD why they don’t tell families more. APD Deputy Chief George Vega said collecting cell phone data, tracking social media activity or recording sighting reports takes a lot of time. “When you look at missing persons cases, it’s not necessarily a crime to disappear. And so there are a lot of different things that these investigators have to look for,” Vega said. “They go through all their checklists trying to figure out where the person is, and then they either come to a fork in the road where that person wants to be found, doesn’t want to be found, or is that person in danger.” In cases like Ferriera’s, investigators also look for signs of a suspected crime or kidnapping. But investigators don’t have any hard evidence to support that. “It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, but the reality is that this is simply a fact of life when it comes to law enforcement involvement in these roles and investigations,” said former APD Commander Paul Szych. Szych knows the ins and outs of these investigations. He says his only concern with the missing persons units is how they are staffed. The missing persons unit may have fewer officers because there are other crimes that have more evidence to investigate. “These units that are in charge of these investigations are usually going to be staffed with a very small number of investigators because there may be absolutely no additional information,” Syzch said. The Department of Public Safety’s missing persons list includes 233 people from Albuquerque. For them, the APD’s missing persons unit has five officers. For comparison, the Crimes Against Children Unit has nine officers. The Homicide Unit has 16 officers. Target 7 asked Vega if the missing persons unit needs to be beefed up. He said he was confident the five people in the department, because of their experience, were able to do the work needed to solve cases like Anastasia’s. “As deputy chief, I feel comfortable where they are,” Vega said. Meanwhile, one mother still misses her daughter, months after she was last seen. Padilla says others are just as frustrated as she is. She said police told her they would consider the case closed if they didn’t get more information soon. The family is taking matters into their own hands, posting more than 500 fliers from Belen to Santa Fe. As Padilla’s daughter’s case becomes more unsolved by the day, she is imploring the community and law enforcement not to forget Anastasia. She said there are hundreds of mothers like her who are suffering in silence. “She doesn’t deserve to not be wanted,” Padilla said.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM —

Natalie Padilla has been missing her daughter Anastasia Ferriera since May 15, 2023.

Anastasia is now 20.

“I just try to get through each day and keep looking for her,” Padilla said.

More than 400 days have passed. But nothing haunts her mother as much as the first day.

“It doesn’t feel real,” Padilla said. “It’s like a dream. It really feels like a dream. It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago.”

The New Mexico Department of Safety website currently lists nearly 800 New Mexicans as missing, and Anastasia Ferriera’s name still appears among them.

Although Padilla is her mother and has complied with all requests from local police, she says investigators are not saying much about their findings.

Albuquerque police have been investigating Anastasia’s disappearance since last May. Her family says police only told them that her phone was last located on March 16, 2023, at 8011 Central Avenue NE. The family didn’t learn of this until nearly a year later.

Target 7 asked APD why they don’t share more information with families. APD Deputy Chief George Vega said collecting cell phone data, tracking social media activity or recording reported sightings takes a lot of time.

“When you look at missing persons cases, the disappearance is not necessarily a crime, so there are a lot of different things that these investigators have to look for,” Vega said. “They go through all their checklists and try to figure out where the person is. Then they either come to a crossroads where that person wants to be found, doesn’t want to be found, or is they in danger.”

In cases like Ferriera’s, detectives also look for evidence of a possible crime or kidnapping. However, investigators have no hard evidence to support these suspicions.

“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, but the reality is that it’s just a fact when it comes to law enforcement involvement in these roles and in these investigations,” said former APD Commander Paul Szych.

Szych knows the ins and outs of these investigations. He says his only concern with the missing persons unit is staffing. The missing persons unit may have fewer officers because there are other crimes that require more evidence to be examined.

“The units responsible for these investigations will usually be staffed with a very small number of investigators, as there may be absolutely no additional information available,” Syzch said.

There are 233 people from Albuquerque on the Department of Public Safety’s missing persons list. Five officers from the APD’s Missing Persons Unit are responsible for these people. By comparison, the Crimes Against Children Unit has nine officers. The Homicide Unit has 16 officers.

Target 7 asked Vega if the missing persons unit needed to be strengthened. He said he was confident that the five people in the unit, because of their experience, would be able to do the work needed to solve cases like Anastasia’s.

“As deputy chief, I feel comfortable where they are,” Vega said.

Meanwhile, one mother still misses her daughter, months after she was last seen. Padilla says others are just as frustrated as she is.

She said police told her they would consider the case closed if they didn’t get more information soon. The family is taking matters into their own hands, posting more than 500 fliers from Belen to Santa Fe. As Padilla’s daughter’s case becomes more unsolved by the day, she is pleading with the community and law enforcement not to forget Anastasia.

She said there are hundreds of mothers like her who suffer in silence.

“She doesn’t deserve to not be looked for,” Padilla said.

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