Key facts
- Name: Adji Desir (“Ji Ji”)
- Born: October 15, 2002
- Age at disappearance: 6
- Last seen: January 10, 2009
- Location: Farm Workers Village, 800 block of Grace Street, Immokalee, Florida
- Height / build: ~3 feet tall, 45 lbs; last seen in blue shorts, blue sneakers, and a shirt with yellow stripes
- Note: Developmentally disabled, mostly nonverbal — functioned at the level of a 2-year-old; understood Haitian Creole but could not speak it; could not have asked for help
- Status: Still missing
- Reward: $23,000 (Black and Missing Foundation, for recovery)
- Investigating agency: Collier County Sheriff’s Office, (239) 793-9300
The boy who couldn’t call for help
On Saturday, January 10, 2009, six-year-old Adji Desir spent the day at his grandmother’s house in the Farm Workers Village in Immokalee, Florida, while his mother was at work. He ate lunch with his grandmother. All afternoon he drifted in and out of the house, playing with neighborhood friends in the 800 block of Grace Street.
Adji — “Ji Ji” to his family — was developmentally disabled and mostly nonverbal. He functioned at the level of a two-year-old. He understood Haitian Creole but could not speak it; he knew his own name but could not say it. He spoke only a few words of English and communicated by nodding or shaking his head. He was afraid of strangers.
Around 5:00 p.m., his stepfather arrived to pick him up. Adji was gone. The family searched frantically for nearly two hours, then called the police at 7:00 p.m.
What followed was a massive search: deputies, K-9 teams, helicopters, boats, ATVs, specialized equipment, hundreds of volunteers. Immokalee is farm country — canals, fields, dense brush. They covered it. No trace of Adji was ever found.
His mother, Marie Neida, a nurse who had moved to the United States from Haiti in 2001, told WINK News it wasn’t like Adji to wander far from home — which made her believe someone might have taken him. “God will give him back to me,” she said. “I think he will come home.”
After Adji disappeared, Marie and her husband had a baby girl. They named her Adjiani — in honor of her missing brother.
The cruelest detail
Most missing children can do one thing Adji could not: ask for help. If he was lost, he couldn’t tell anyone his name. If he was frightened, he couldn’t call out. If a stranger approached, his fear of strangers meant he might hide rather than run toward safety. Every searcher’s nightmare in this case was the same: that Adji was close by, silent, waiting, and no one knew.
He lived with his mother and stepfather, Antal Elant. His biological father, Yves Desir, still lives in Haiti — Adji was conceived during his mother’s three-month trip back. The family was, by every account, devoted. This was not a child who slipped away from inattention; this was a child who stepped outside to play and never came back inside.
Seventeen years later, Adji Desir’s case remains what it was on the night of January 10, 2009: a six-year-old boy, last seen in blue shorts and a yellow-striped shirt, who could not speak for himself — and still needs someone to speak for him.
Theories: what might have happened
He wandered and succumbed to the environment. Immokalee’s farmworker country is laced with canals and irrigation ditches, and a six-year-old with the mind of a two-year-old, unable to call for help, is profoundly vulnerable to water and wilderness. The massive search found nothing — but water doesn’t always give back what it takes. What undercuts certainty: the search was extensive and immediate, with divers, boats, and helicopters, and still nothing.
He was taken. His mother believed it: Adji didn’t wander far, and someone may have seen a vulnerable, nonverbal child playing outside. What undercuts it: no witness, no suspect, no ransom, no trace — and no evidence pointing to anyone.
He hid. His fear of strangers cuts both ways: if approached by searchers he didn’t know, Adji may have hidden instead of answering. It’s a possibility that makes the silence of the search even harder to bear — and impossible to rule out.
Adji Desir turns 24 this month. Somewhere there may be a young man who cannot say his own name, who nods instead of speaking, who has never been identified. Or somewhere in the canals and fields of Immokalee, there is an answer the water kept.
Have information?
Contact the Collier County Sheriff’s Office at (239) 793-9300. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- October 15, 2002 — Adji Desir is born.
- January 10, 2009, afternoon — Adji plays in and out of his grandmother’s house in Farm Workers Village, Immokalee.
- January 10, 2009, ~5:00 p.m. — His stepfather arrives to pick him up; Adji is missing.
- January 10, 2009, 7:00 p.m. — After two hours of searching, the family calls police.
- January 2009 — Massive search: deputies, K-9s, helicopters, boats, ATVs, hundreds of volunteers. No trace found.
- 2009–2010 — His parents have a daughter and name her Adjiani, in honor of Adji.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Adji Desir still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Adji Desir has been missing for more than 17 years.
Was Adji Desir ever found?
No. Despite a massive search involving helicopters, boats, K-9 teams, and hundreds of volunteers, no trace of Adji has ever been found.
How old would Adji Desir be today?
Adji was born October 15, 2002 — he turns 24 on October 15, 2026.
Why was Adji Desir especially vulnerable?
Adji was developmentally disabled and mostly nonverbal, functioning at the level of a two-year-old. He understood Haitian Creole but couldn’t speak it, knew his name but couldn’t say it, and was afraid of strangers — meaning he likely could not have asked for help or identified himself to anyone.
What was Adji Desir wearing?
Blue shorts, blue sneakers, and a shirt with yellow stripes. He was about 3 feet tall and weighed about 45 pounds.
How can I help?
Share this case file. If you have any information, contact the Collier County Sheriff’s Office at (239) 793-9300.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Collier County Sheriff’s Office, (239) 793-9300.
- News: WINK News (mother’s interview).
- Reference: The Vivid Faces of the Vanished, “Adji Desir Disappearance: Non-Verbal Florida Boy Missing Since 2009”; NCMEC.
Corrections (October 2026 fact-check): minor — added the $23,000 BAMFI reward for recovery (Black and Missing Foundation). Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.