Missing and Murdered Children

Oscar, Karla and Fernando Casanova were last seen on Friday, April 18, 2008 in the 1800 block of North Richmond Street in Chicago, Illinois. At about 2:30 that day they were abducted by a male family relative.

According to WMAQ-TV the three children were abducted from Yates Elementary School on Friday at about 2:30 p.m. They were released from school before they were abducted, police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said. ¹

I am not sure why the Amber Alert was not issued on Friday or sometime over the weekend. Now there is a reason to believe the children are in danger because their mother was discovered dead in her home today.

The mother of the 3 children, Sophia Garcia, 30, was found dead at about noon with a plastic bag over her head in her home. ²

The identified suspect at this time according to the Amber Alert site is 31-year-old Benito Casanova. Benito is a White/Hispanic male standing 6′1″ tall and weighing approximately 200 lbs. He has brown hair and brown eyes.

Police do not know if Casanova is married to Garcia or just in a dating relationship. However, he is the father of 2 of the abducted children.³

The suspect vehicle description is a 2002 Silver/Gray Dodge Dakota with Illinois license plate 86196HB. One license plate is missing.

The description of the children are as follows:

Fernando Casanova is an 11-year-old White/Hispanic male with brown hair and brown eyes. He stands 5′ tall and weighs approximately 130 lbs.

Karla Casanova is a 7-year-old White/Hispanic female with brown hair and brown eyes. She stands 4′1″ tall and weighs approximately 75 lbs.

Oscar Casanova is a 6-year-old White/Hispanic male with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He stands 4′ tall and weighs approximately 60 lbs.

Anyone having information should call 911 and tell the operator you have an Amber Alert report.