Key facts
- Name: Sofia Juarez
- Born: February 5, 1998 (some sources list February 4, 1998)
- Age at disappearance: 4 (the night before her 5th birthday)
- Last seen: February 4, 2003, ~9:00 p.m.
- Location: Home in Kennewick, Washington
- Height / build: 3’0″, 44 lbs at the time; brown hair, brown eyes; small scar under one eyebrow, mole on her back
- Status: Still missing — stranger abduction; first Amber Alert in Washington state history
- Investigating agency: Kennewick Police Department; FBI
The night before her birthday
On the evening of February 4, 2003, four-year-old Sofia Juarez was playing outside her family’s home in Kennewick, Washington. It was the night before her fifth birthday. There would be cake tomorrow. Presents. Family.
Around 9:00 p.m., she vanished from the yard.
Her mother, Maria Juarez, searched frantically, then called police. What happened next made history: Sofia’s disappearance triggered the first Amber Alert ever issued in Washington state. The alert system had barely existed — it had been created nationally only months earlier. Within hours, Sofia’s face was everywhere.
She never came home. The birthday party never happened.
Who Sofia was
Sofia Juarez was born February 5, 1998 — so the night she vanished was the eve of her fifth birthday. At four, she was 3 feet tall, 44 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, a small scar under one eyebrow, and a mole on her back. She was the kind of four-year-old who played in the yard while dinner was being made — ordinary, beloved, safe. Until she wasn’t.
Her mother has never stopped. For more than two decades, Maria Juarez has marked every February 4th — the night Sofia vanished, hours before the fifth birthday party that never happened — with renewed pleas. “I just want to know where she is,” she has said. “I want her home.”
The investigation
The Kennewick Police Department and the FBI investigated Sofia’s disappearance as a stranger abduction. In the first days, search teams combed the neighborhood, divers checked the Columbia River, and investigators interviewed everyone in the area. A neighbor reported seeing a suspicious vehicle. Tips poured in from across the country.
No suspect was ever charged. No trace of Sofia was ever found.
The case has been kept alive by anniversary coverage — the 10th, the 15th, the 20th — by the Tri-City media, and by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which has released age-progression images showing what Sofia might look like as a teenager and as a young woman. She would be 28 now.
In recent years, investigators have revisited the case with new forensic tools, and the family has continued to appeal directly to one imagined person: Sofia herself, grown, possibly not knowing who she is — or the person who took her, who has carried the secret for 23 years.
Theories: what might have happened
Stranger abduction. The leading theory from the start: Sofia was taken from the yard that night by someone unknown. Supports it: the sudden vanishing from a supervised area, the suspicious vehicle report, the absence of any sign she wandered off, no body ever found. Unresolved: no suspect, no witness to the taking.
Someone she knew. Investigators looked hard at everyone in Sofia’s circle, as protocol demands. No one was ever charged, and no evidence has ever pointed to a family member or acquaintance.
Have information?
Contact the Kennewick Police Department or the FBI, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- February 5, 1998 — Sofia Juarez is born.
- February 4, 2003, ~9:00 p.m. — Vanishes from her yard in Kennewick, the night before her 5th birthday.
- February 2003 — First Amber Alert in Washington state history is issued; massive search; no trace found.
- 2003–present — Kennewick PD and FBI investigate; anniversary coverage; NCMEC age-progressions released.
- February 2023 — 20th anniversary; family renews pleas.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Sofia Juarez still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Sofia Juarez has been missing for more than 23 years.
Was Sofia Juarez ever found?
No. No trace of Sofia has ever been found.
Why is the Sofia Juarez case historically significant?
Her disappearance triggered the first Amber Alert ever issued in Washington state — the alert system had been created nationally only months before she vanished.
How old would Sofia Juarez be today?
Sofia was born February 5, 1998 — she turned 28 in February 2026.
How can I help?
Share this case file — especially the NCMEC age-progression images. Anyone with information should contact the Kennewick Police Department, the FBI, or NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Kennewick Police Department; FBI; National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (age-progressions).
- News: Tri-City Herald (Kennewick); KEPR-TV; KNDU (20th anniversary, 2023).
- Reference: The Charley Project; NamUs; Wikipedia (Disappearance of Sofia Juarez).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.
Corrections (October 2026): Sofia’s birth date corrected from February 4, 1998 to February 5, 1998 (Wikipedia infobox; she disappeared February 4, 2003 — the night before her fifth birthday). An unverified “Unsolved Mysteries (case coverage)” credit was removed from Sources.