🕯️The Disappearance of Cesilia Pena 💔

Cesilia Pena, a 14-year-old girl from the Bronx, New York, vanished on October 6, 1976, while traveling home from school, and her case remains unsolved to this day. Described as a Hispanic female with black hair, brown eyes, and a scar on her left forearm, Cesilia stood 4’9” tall and weighed approximately 111 pounds. On the day she disappeared, she was wearing her parochial school uniform consisting of a light gray jacket, a gray plaid skirt, and a white blouse. She attended St. Alphonsus Commercial High School in lower Manhattan and relied on the subway each day to commute between school and her family’s home in the Bronx.

According to investigators, Cesilia was last seen between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. at the 149th Street station while riding the Number 2 train with friends. Her normal routine was to travel five stops to Simpson Street Station and then take the Number 5 bus home. However, on that afternoon, she never arrived home and was never seen again. Authorities believe something may have happened to her during her usual commute.

Several days after her disappearance, a woman from the neighborhood came forward claiming she had seen Cesilia later that same day standing at the corner of 163rd Street and Southern Boulevard with a local man identified as Anthony “Rudy” Flores. The witness stated that Flores was holding Cesilia by the arm and that she appeared frightened and uncomfortable. The location of the alleged sighting was near the route Cesilia would normally take home, leading investigators to believe she may have exited the subway earlier than usual or encountered Flores after getting off at her regular stop.

When questioned by authorities, Flores denied being with Cesilia or having any involvement in her disappearance. He was also considered a suspect in another 1976 disappearance involving a young girl named Nelida Del Valle from Massachusetts. Although Flores has never been charged in either case, reports state that he is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence for murders committed in New York City.

Despite years of investigation, Cesilia Pena has never been located, and no arrests have been made in connection to her disappearance. Her case continues to be classified as an endangered missing child and a suspected non-family abduction. DNA evidence is available, but dental records and fingerprints were never obtained. 

Anyone with information regarding Cesilia’s disappearance is encouraged to contact the New York Police Department at 646-610-6914.

Sources:

Have you seen this child? Cesilia Pena
https://charleyproject.org/case/cesilia-pena
https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/mp-main.html?id=107DFNY
A routine New York subway ride turned into a mystery for 14-year-old Cesilia Pena’s family in 1976 – NewsBreak
Missing Person / NamUs #MP6506 | NamUs 
Cesilia Pena – The Resource Center For Cold Case Missing Children’s Cases 
Cesilia Pena Missing Person Case | Last Seen in New York, New York 
Cesilia Pena | International Missing Persons Wiki | Fandom  Stop Child Abuse – Cesilia Pena Missing Since 6 October 1976 From New York, NY