A girl from California who disappeared at just five years old in 2020 has been found alive nearly six years later \u2014 more than 2,600 miles from where she went missing and reportedly living under another name.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Karen Rojas vanished from Duarte, a city near Los Angeles, on June 2, 2020.<\/p>\n
Authorities later revealed that the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services had already been looking into a case involving the child when questions about her whereabouts first arose. As concerns increased, the agency contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff\u2019s Department to report her missing.<\/p>\n
Believed to be with her mother<\/p>\n
According to the sheriff\u2019s department, the girl\u2019s mother \u2014 who had legal custody \u2014 suddenly stopped communicating with DCFS staff and was suspected of taking the child.<\/p>\n
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children later added Karen to its list of missing children, and the case remained unsolved for several years.<\/p>\n
In December 2025, the organization released an age-progressed image showing what Karen might look like as she got older, hoping it would help generate new tips. Despite the effort, the investigation produced few leads for a long time.<\/p>\n
Breakthrough across the country<\/p>\n
Nearly six years after her disappearance, a tip finally led investigators to new information \u2014 more than 2,600 miles from where she vanished.<\/p>\n
Detectives in Los Angeles alerted authorities in North Carolina after receiving information that the missing girl could be living in Washington County. Deputies there began following up on the lead.<\/p>\n
During their investigation, officials discovered that a child believed to be Karen had been enrolled in the county\u2019s school system \u2014 but under a different identity.<\/p>\n
The Washington County Sheriff\u2019s Office later confirmed the discovery in a social media post on March 10.<\/p>\n
Authorities said deputies were able to determine that the girl had been attending school under an alias. She was quickly taken into protective custody and confirmed to be safe.<\/p>\n
Child now safe<\/p>\n
The girl, now 11 years old, was placed in protective custody while officials worked to ensure her well-being.<\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s office noted that such positive outcomes are uncommon in long-running missing-person cases but credited cooperation between agencies for helping resolve the situation.<\/p>\n
Investigation continues<\/p>\n
Although Karen has been located, the case is still under investigation. Authorities in California and North Carolina have not said whether anyone has been arrested, and details remain limited about how she came to be living under a different name or who cared for her during the years she was missing.<\/p>\n
For privacy reasons, the sheriff\u2019s office did not publicly release the child\u2019s identity, though she had previously been identified by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and ABC News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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