Disappearance of Arianna Fitts
Arianna Fitts | |
|---|---|
 Photograph age-progessed to 8 years old | |
| Born | September 6, 2013 California, US |
| Disappeared | April 5, 2016 (aged 2) Oakland, California US |
| Status | Missing for 8 years, 7 months and 28 days |
| Height | 2 ft 0 in (0.61 m) |
| Mother | Nicole 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]
Background
[edit]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
[edit]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. [1]
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
[edit]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
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Arianna Fitts". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- ^ a b "SF police release new info in search for missing girl, mother's homicide". ABC7 San Francisco. 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "San Francisco police search for missing, at-risk toddler". ABC7 San Francisco. 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ Sawyer, Nuala (2018-07-26). "Where Is Arianna Fitts? - July 26, 2018 - SF Weekly". SF Weekly. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ Sawyer, Nuala (26 July 2008). "Where Is Arianna Fitts?". SF Weekly. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Lamb, Jonah Owen (May 18, 2016). "SFPD renews pleas for help in finding missing toddler". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Woodrow, Melanie (2016-11-26). "Family of missing San Francisco girl believes she's still alive". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ Evans, Alexandra (2017-04-03). "Vigil Held For Missing Toddler And Slain Mother - San Francisco News". San Francisco News. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ FOX. "Reward offered in San Francisco missing toddler case". KTVU. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Reward Increased in Unsolved Case of Mother Found Buried in SF Park, Missing Daughter". NBC Bay Area. April 1, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "EPISODE 217: Arianna Fitts". The Vanished Podcast. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "MISSING: Arianna Fitts". 14 November 2022.