Still Missing - Jaquilla Scales

In September 2001 something terrible happened in our country, I know that most people are thinking about the anniversary of 9/11, but just a few days before that dreadful day, another horrible thing had already happened. A four year old girl just disappeared.

Jaquilla Scales was four years old the night she disappeared. She had been born to a teenage mother who was trying her best to raise her daughter with the help of her family. Jaquilla was spending time with her grandmother when she disappeared. Her grandmother had gone to sleep and woke up to her granddaughter missing,

The police and family and friends all turned up to search for Jaquilla. They searched their neighborhood and then the city. There were helicopters, cars, horses and dogs helping with the search. No trace was found of the precious little girl.

The search continued into the next week. Then two planes flew into the World Trade Center in New York City, and the small girl in Wichita, Kansas was soon forgotten. Although the police kept the investigation going, everyone else had all but given up on even searching for Jaquilla. Her disappearance had been in the local newspaper quite a few times throughout the years, but there weren't many clues or leads that came from it, She had just vanished into thin air. But someone knows something. Someone needs to share information about this precious baby.

Jaquilla Scales would be 14 years old now. Possibly starting her first year of high school. The last time she was seen, she was in a light gown and her hair was braided with little plastic barrettes on the ends. She was missing her front teeth. She had a smile that would break your heart. She was an adorable child. That's the picture I will always remember.

Her picture was age progressed to age 13. She would still be a beautiful child. Still with the warm, engaging smile. Could probably still pull off the multiple braids, but would probably want a more grown-up hairstyle now.

I did not know Jaquilla Scales or her family. I am not writing this because she was a friend or family. I am writing this because I see her smiling little face staring back at me every day of the week. Her picture, and contact information, is on a flyer in our workroom at school. I am writing this because she can't. I am writing this because, as a mother and grandmother, I can't even imagine the pain her family must be going through. I am writing this because, maybe - just maybe, someone who reads this will have some information about Jaquilla and maybe will be able to share that with the police and maybe she will be brought home. Maybe her family will get some closure.

If you have any information about Jaquilla - or any other missing child - contact:

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

www.missingkids.com

1-800-The-Lost