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a photo of Maeve, taken by her mother, Emelina, three days before her disappearance March 12th, 1999 - June 6th, 2011
PARTIALLY SOLVED
Maeve Josephine Hernandez-Foster was an American child who went missing from her home in Valley Towne, North Carolina.
Maeve was born to a mixed family, the youngest of two children, in Valley Towne, North Carolina. She had an older brother named Marco. Her early life was uneventful. Valley Towne was a small town, had no real major crime and it wasn't uncommon for kids as young as six to be walking around town, alone. And this one particular night when Maeve was twelve, she asked if she could go down to a local park. Her mother, Emelina, said yes. So, Maeve left and then she never came back.
We now know what happened to Maeve. According to Natalia Haden, who met Maeve when the two were being 'rented out', as Natalia put it, by the same man, Edward Scott. Natalia was ten, Maeve, fourteen. What Natalia got was that Maeve had been walking around and a man came and took her.
For the next two years, the two girls would manage to stick together, Maeve becoming a sort of big sister figure to Natalia. On March 23rd, 2015, the older of the two hatched an escape plan. When the door to the basement was open, Maeve grabbed Natalia and ran. Up to the main floor, out the house and into the woods. They ran for however long before their unnamed 'renter' caught up with them.
He pointed his shotgun at Natalia's head, telling Maeve to come back or else, he'd shoot.
"I wish I had done something," Natalia would say in a 2019 interview. "I could have done something. I regret not doing anything. I could have easily kicked him in the balls or something and we could have kept running. We could have kept moving. We could have made it to the nearby town and told the police station what was happening. But, no, I did nothing. I just sat there thinking about how I wanted him to shoot me."
Maeve agreed to go back and Unknown removed the gun. The two girls begrudgingly went back to his house, where they were placed in the basement. And the Maeve was shot. Several times over, right as Natalia watched.
Her final words were to Natalia; "You're going to keep fighting. Do you understand me? You will keep fighting. You'll get out of this someday. Promise me, Natalia, that you'll keep fighting."
Natalia promised and then Maeve was dragged out of the room. Natalia has no idea if she lived or died. If Maeve did not die, it is highly likely that she is still being trafficked. Authorities continue to search for her.
In early 2021, there was a reported sighting of Maeve, in New York City. The anonymous reporter says that they saw her sitting outside a restaurant, with a redhead girl no older than ten, and a black man, very clearly much older than the both of them.
But, as of today, Maeve is still missing. Today, she would be twenty-four years old. Maeve, if you are reading this, and you are free and able, please come back home. Your family misses you, your town misses you, Natalia misses you. Please, come home.
