Woman who went missing as a baby 51 years ago possibly found
A woman who had been on the missing persons list since she was a baby 51 years ago was reported to have been sighted.
In a post made on Twitter, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the United States reported that a tipster informed them earlier this week that they had seen the missing woman, identified as Melissa Highsmith.
BREAKING NEWS: NCMEC has received an anonymous tip of a possible sighting of Melissa Melissa in the #Charleston, #SouthCarolina area who has been missing for 51 years. Her photograph has been age-progressed to what she may look like today at 52.
— NCMEC (@MissingKids) September 8, 2022
⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/G2bV3pqgb9
Melissa vanished from Fort Worth Texas when she was just a 21-month-old baby on Aug. 23, 1971. She was supposedly seen in Charleston, South Carolina, which is over a thousand miles away from where she disappeared.
According to John Bischoff, head of NCMEC's Missing Children Division, it's rare to receive tips regarding missing person cases that are more than a decade old. However, it's not impossible, and so the organization is happy that Melissa's case is still moving forward despite the time that had passed.
"At NCMEC, we will never forget about a missing child, and we are happy to see much of the community has not forgotten about Melissa either," Bischoff told Fox News Digital.
Since there is now a wide gap between the middle-aged Melissa and her baby photo used to look for her, Bischoff said that it was "outstanding" that the tipster still recognized her.
NCMEC said that Melissa was abducted by the babysitter that her mother hired to watch over her.
At the time of her disappearance, Melissa's mother had been working as a waitress and had placed an advertisement at a local newspaper to hire a babysitter for her daughter. A woman responded to the ad and Melissa's mother planned a meeting with her at the restaurant, but she never showed up.
The woman later called Melissa's mother and said that she really wanted the job. She also told her that she had a big yard and was caring for other children as well.
The babysitter was hired and she picked Melissa up at their apartment. The mother was at work during that time and her roommate described the babysitter as "nice and was dressed to impress."
However, it was the last time her mother would see Melissa as she was not returned to her.
NCMEC said that the tipster saw Melissa in the area of Daniel Island and urged concerned citizens who might have information to call them.