Leticia Hernandez lived with her parents, grandparents, and six siblings in an apartment complex in Oceanside, California. The 7-year-old was playing outside in front of the apartment on the afternoon of Saturday, December 16, 1989, when her mother went into the building’s laundry room around 5:00 pm. When her mother, also named Leticia, left the laundry room 10 minutes later, she didn’t see her daughter but assumed she had gone off with one of her friends. Her mother checked with neighbors and called some of her daughter’s friends but none of them knew where the little girl was. She then called the police and reported her daughter missing.
Leticia had celebrated her 7th birthday just two days before she went missing. She was a first-grader at Palmquist Elementary School in Oceanside, where she was known as a friendly, somewhat timid girl who was well-behaved and got along with her classmates. She would often play with friends who lived in the same apartment building but had no history of wandering away from home.
That Saturday, however, a police chase took place in nearby Balderrama Park; dozens of cop cars with flashing lights as well as a sheriff’s helicopter swarmed the area, attracting Leticia’s attention. She pointed them out to her mother, who told her not to worry about it and to stay in front of the apartment. Now, she worried that Leticia may have been so intrigued by the commotion that she defied her orders and went over to the park to see what was going on there.
Officers with the Oceanside Police Department immediately launched an extensive search of the area surrounding Leticia’s apartment building. They went door-to-door in the apartment complex and nearby neighborhood and called up reserve officers to help comb through a nearby canyon. By 3:00 am, they were starting to grow discouraged. The search was halted for a few hours but resumed again after sunrise, with many residents volunteering to help. Police spokesman Bob George admitted that he believed Leticia had likely been kidnapped.
By Sunday, thousands of missing person flyers were being distributed throughout the area; a printing shop in Oceanside provided copies of the flyer at no charge. Deputies with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department used a helicopter to conduct an aerial search while police officers with search dogs and hundreds of volunteers scoured through Oceanside’s alleyways and backyards. They were unable to find any clues to Leticia’s whereabouts.
As word about Leticia’s disappearance spread, several children came forward to report seeing a man driving a four-door, dark-colored Cadillac through the neighborhood early Saturday evening; the man, described as being balding and in his mid-30s, was offering children $50 to get in his car in the parking lot of a nearby market. The kids ran inside the market and stayed there until they saw the man drive away.
Another girl recalled seeing the same man in the market’s parking lot several days earlier. He asked a young girl if she needed help carrying groceries but didn’t follow her when she ignored him. Detectives weren’t sure if this man was involved in Leticia’s disappearance but wanted to identify him so he could be questioned.
Bob George said there had been several reports of men trying to lure children into their cars over the previous two or three weeks in Oceanside but detectives hadn’t been able to determine if they were related or not. So far, they didn’t have any suspects in any of the cases.
Leticia’s father was in Mexico taking care of his ill mother at the time of his daughter’s disappearance and wasn’t considered a suspect in her case. While waiting for her husband to return, Leticia’s mother made a public appeal for her daughter’s safe return. “I just want to have her back soon. If it is money they want…speak to me. The only thing I want is to have my child here.”
On Monday, detectives admitted that they didn’t have any solid leads and weren’t sure what happened to Leticia. Because they believed that the little girl had been abducted, the FBI joined the investigation, sending agents to question neighbors and search homes in the area. Bob George noted, “We don’t have good feelings on this case…we want to put pressure on whoever has her to drop her.”
Everyone in the community pulled together to search for the little girl. Detectives noted that volunteers included community leaders, block captains, and gang members. They helped distribute flyers in Oceanside, Encinitas, Fallbrook, San Marcos, and Vista. The missing girl’s mother said she was overwhelmed by how many people had stopped by her home asking what they could do to help find Leticia. She made several public pleas for her daughter’s abductor to return Leticia. “If whoever has her does not want to bring her here, then at least leave her in a place where she can reach me.”
On Tuesday, police searched the banks of the San Luis Rey River and the Buena Vista Lagoon. They were joined by Marines from Camp Pendleton who had specialized training in search and rescue. Investigators said they hadn’t received any tips directing them to search the river or lagoon but they wanted to make sure they covered the entire area just in case.
Oceanside Police Lt. Ron Call said that six investigators and four FBI agents were assigned to a task force to investigate Leticia’s abduction but they hadn’t been able to come up with any solid leads yet. “We are checking every angle and looking at anything and everything.” Detectives had been able to rule out members of Leticia’s family from having any involvement in her disappearance.
By Wednesday, the physical search for Leticia was called off as detectives believed she had most likely been taken out of the area. Bob George said investigators currently had no leads. “We need reports from people that have seen her or know of people trying to talk to her [before she went missing].” Detectives followed up on every tip they received but none of them led to Leticia.
Leticia’s siblings struggled to understand what had happened to the little girl. Her brother, Daniel Hernandez, was just 4 years old when Leticia disappeared. He told reporters, “If I were big, I would put on my Superman suit, and I would fly around until I saw her. I would rescue her and bring her home…I would hold her in one arm and fly home.”
Leticia’s apartment was decorated for Christmas but no one in the family felt very festive. The little girl’s mother said all she wanted for Christmas was to have her daughter back, but with each passing day, investigators knew their chances of finding Leticia alive were diminishing.
Four days after Leticia was last seen, police expanded their search into parts of Mexico. Missing person flyers with Leticia’s photograph were distributed in Tijuana and Baja California, and several investigators crossed the border to follow up on some leads they received. They also teamed up with Mexican police to search several areas south of the border.
Oceanside residents started a reward fund at a local bank and encouraged individuals and businesses to donate; the Blade-Citizen newspaper also announced it was offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to Leticia’s whereabouts. Detectives were hopeful that the monetary reward would bring in some new leads for them to follow.
Police spokesman Bob George told reporters investigators were optimistic that Leticia would be found. “We’re not giving up and we don’t plan to. We’re not going to write her off just because she is still missing.”
Christmas Day was bleak at the Hernandez home, although residents dropped off presents for Leticia’s siblings and food for the family. Leticia’s mother said she was extremely grateful for all the community support but just wanted her daughter back.
On December 26, 1989, investigators released a sketch of a man wanted for questioning in Leticia’s disappearance. The composite sketch was developed using a description from a woman who believed she saw Leticia and her abductor at the Buckman Springs Rest Area on Interstate 8 around 11:30 pm on the Saturday she was reported missing. This was around 90 miles east of Leticia’s apartment.
The woman said the little girl, who appeared to be scared and was crying, was with a white man in his early 30s with blond shoulder-length hair. He was around 5 feet 8 inches tall and stocky, weighing approximately 225 pounds. She told police she and her husband didn’t intervene because they assumed the child and man were having “family problems.” It wasn’t until she later learned of Leticia’s abduction that she called police.
After the sketch of Leticia’s alleged abductor was released, detectives received several calls from people who believed they saw him and the little girl in the Las Vegas area. A few days later, they heard from several people who claimed they saw Leticia with a man and woman at a rest stop in Arizona. Witnesses claimed the little girl appeared to be scared and intimidated but was physically unharmed.
Investigators released a composite sketch of the woman seen traveling with the blond man and Leticia. The woman, who also had blonde hair, was described as being 5 feet 10 inches tall with a slender build. Witnesses stated the blond male had a receding hairline and a tattoo of a cross on the back of his hand. The trio was traveling in a dirty maroon car with a tan interior, most likely a 1975 Buick Skylark.
On January 2, 1990, detectives said they were concentrating their search for Leticia and her abductors in Texas after a recent sighting of the little girl at a truck stop in El Paso. Witnesses there described seeing her with the same couple others had reported as well as the same car. Detectives were optimistic that they would soon be able to find Leticia alive and reunite her with her family.
After a few days, the sightings of Leticia dried up and detectives found themselves without any solid leads about her whereabouts. They had followed up on more than 230 potential sightings but believed that most of them were cases of mistaken identity. Authorities did what they could to get national coverage for the case, hoping this would bring in additional tips that might lead them to Leticia, but eventually the investigation started to stall.
While detectives were doing everything they could to find Leticia, her classmates at Palmquist Elementary School struggled to understand what happened to their friend. Many were afraid to play outside, fearing that they would be kidnapped next. Counselors were brought into the school to talk to the children, who expressed their fears that Leticia was never going to be found.
On January 24, 1990, Leticia’s disappearance was featured on an episode of “Unsolved Mysteries.” Police spokesman Bob George told reporters that detectives were growing desperate for information. “We’re just bumping into a brick wall. We need some leads. We need some help.” After the episode aired, investigators received 144 calls about the case. There were reported sightings of Leticia in Texas, Alabama, Florida, and Colorado. Each tip was followed up on but none of them led to the missing girl.
In late February 1990, detectives noted that before they received numerous reports of Leticia being seen with a blond couple, they had suspected a local man of being responsible for her disappearance. While they didn’t give the man’s name, they confirmed that he lived on the same block as Leticia and her family; although detectives were following up on leads from out of state, this man still hadn’t been cleared as a suspect.
Community members held several fundraisers in June and October, hoping to raise an additional $100,000 to add to the reward fund. They held silent auctions and concerts, hosted booths at local fairs, and held raffles. Their fundraiser helped keep the case in the headlines but failed to lead to new developments.
Detectives followed leads from California to Florida, but as the first anniversary of Leticia’s disappearance approached, her mother said she didn’t believe her daughter had been taken out of the state. “I don’t believe that she is in Florida…I don’t know what people are seeing but I just feel that she is close.”
Leticia should have been celebrating her 8th birthday with her friends and family on December 13, 1990. To mark the occasion, the Oceanside Boys and Girls Club threw a public party in honor of the missing girl. They also dedicated several of their fall and winter programs to her, hoping that by using her name they would keep the case in the public eye and remind people that she was still missing.
On March 9, 1991, Leticia’s skull was found in a remote canyon near the Riverside County border. Her mother’s hunch proved to be true; Leticia was found just 23 miles away from where she was last seen. She had never left the state of California.
The news of the discovery shocked residents of Oceanside. They had all hoped that Leticia would be found alive in Florida since there had been so many reported sightings of her there. They were heartbroken when they learned that she had been so close to home the entire time.
The medical examiner said that Leticia had died between 3 to 12 months earlier, but fragments of the red shorts and underwear she had been wearing when she disappeared were found nearby, leading some to believe she had been killed the same day she went missing. An extensive search of the area where her body was found yielded 27 pieces of evidence, though detectives wouldn’t discuss exactly what had been found.
The exact cause of Leticia’s death couldn’t be established; the medical examiner could only say that her skull bore no signs of violence. Since only a small portion of her remains was recovered, it was impossible to say exactly how she died but detectives were investigating the case as a homicide, noting it would have been impossible for Leticia to get to the canyon on her own.
A public memorial was held for Leticia on March 23, 1991, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Oceanside. Although her family initially wasn’t sure they were going to hold a public funeral since most of Leticia’s remains still hadn’t been found, they seemed to recognize that they — and the community — needed to have some sense of closure. Nearly 500 people attended the service.
While the community was mourning their loss, a federal grand jury was convened to determine if there was enough evidence to charge an unidentified individual in the case. Detectives refused to publicly name the suspect but noted he was a convicted child molester who lived in Oceanside. He was subpoenaed but asserted his constitutional right to remain silent in front of the grand jury, though he did provide blood and hair samples.
This man had come to the attention of police early in the case, and the FBI searched his home and briefly confiscated his car shortly after Leticia vanished. He claimed that he had been out of town on the day Leticia went missing but witnesses disputed this. The truth may never be known; no indictments were handed down in the case and the investigation soon stalled and then went cold.
In 1992, detectives admitted that the convicted child molester was still considered a suspect in the case, but DNA testing had been inconclusive and they were unable to link him to Leticia’s disappearance. Steve Casey, an investigator with the district attorney’s office, noted, “The well on that is pretty dry…it would be inaccurate to characterize it as an active, ongoing investigation at this point.”
On February 8, 1998, Leticia’s mother died at the age of 40 without ever learning who had abducted and killed her beloved daughter. Leticia’s grandmother, father, and siblings continued to hope that they would one day obtain justice for the little girl. As of August 2023, they are still waiting.
Leticia Hernandez was just 7 years old when she was abducted from Oceanside, California, and murdered in December 1989. She was a sweet and somewhat shy little girl who loved penny candy, bananas, and oranges, and she was fluent in English and Spanish. Despite following up on thousands of leads over the years, detectives have never been able to make any arrests in her case. If you have any information about Leticia’s murder, please contact the Oceanside Police Department at 760–435–4900.
