The Missing Princess Perez

The Missing
Princess Perez
The Bronx, New York

🧸💔 Princess Perez: A Little Girl Who Deserved to Grow Up, Not Be Forgotten 💔🕊️

On June 15, 1996, two-year-old Princess Perez vanished from her family’s home on Webb Avenue in the Bronx, New York. She was just a tiny toddler with brown hair, brown eyes, and an entire lifetime ahead of her. Instead of growing up surrounded by love and safety, Princess’s short life became the center of one of New York City’s most heartbreaking and disturbing child disappearance cases, a mystery that remains unsolved nearly three decades later.

Princess’s family had already been under the watch of New York’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). She and her two older sisters had been placed in foster care shortly after Princess was born due to neglect, only to be returned to their parents in January 1996 after officials believed the home was safe. Within months, however, new allegations of abuse surfaced. Caseworkers documented injuries on one of Princess’s sisters, raising serious concerns about what was happening behind closed doors.

The last confirmed sighting of Princess came on June 15, 1996, when an ACS worker saw her with her father, Antonio Perez. Just weeks later, when officials returned after receiving reports that Princess was missing, her mother, Karen Perez, insisted the little girl was living with relatives in California. She could not provide an address or any way to verify the claim. Despite the family’s troubling history, no one confirmed Princess’s whereabouts, and the investigation quietly stalled while the abuse allegations involving her sisters continued.

Everything changed in 1998. As Antonio prepared to be released from prison after serving time for driving while intoxicated, Karen reportedly confessed to a relative that Princess had never gone to California. Instead, she claimed Antonio had killed the toddler, placed her body into a garbage bag, and disposed of her somewhere in New York City. The relative immediately contacted police, finally triggering the missing child investigation Princess should have received years earlier.

When questioned, Antonio admitted Princess had died in June 1996 but insisted her death was from natural causes. He claimed he disposed of her body instead of seeking medical help or notifying authorities. He later led investigators to several locations across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn, but despite extensive searches, Princess was never found. No trace of the little girl has ever been recovered.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking details came from Princess’s older sisters. They told investigators they remembered seeing Princess lying motionless on the floor, her lips blue and her body still. Not long afterward, they noticed a garbage bag inside the home that appeared to contain the small body of their little sister. Those memories would haunt the investigation, yet despite the statements, changing stories, and years of unanswered questions, no criminal charges have ever been filed in connection with Princess’s disappearance.

Princess Perez has now been missing for nearly 30 years. She never had the chance to celebrate birthdays, start school, make friends, or discover who she might have become. Her disappearance also exposed troubling failures within the child welfare system, where repeated opportunities to verify her safety were missed while she silently disappeared from the world.

Today, Princess is classified as an endangered missing child, and foul play is strongly suspected. Although investigators believe she is likely deceased, her remains have never been found, and the truth about what happened to this innocent little girl has never been fully uncovered. Princess deserves more than unanswered questions, she deserves justice, dignity, and to be remembered. 🕯️

If you have any further information, please contact the New York Police Department at 646-610-6914.

Sources:
Have you seen this child? Princess Perez 
Princess Perez – The Charley Project 
Princess Perez | International Missing Persons Wiki | Fandom 
2659DFNY – Princess Perez 
Missing Person / NamUs #MP5252 | NamUs 
Stop Child Abuse – Princess Perez Missing Since 15 June 1996 From Bronx, NY 
Missing: Princess Perez | Bronx, NY | Uncovered 
PRINCESS IS DEAD, MOM SEZ BRONX TOT LAST SEEN IN ’96 – New York Daily News