LUMBERTON — Law enforcement officials continue to believe that someone will provide key information on the kidnapping of Hania Noelia Aguilar if the price is right.
The FBI has increased its reward from $15,000 to a maximum of $25,000, C. Andrew de la Rocha, a FBI supervisory senior resident agent, said Tuesday.
The scope of the people who can claim the reward also has been expanded. The original reward was for information that led to the finding of the 13-year-old girl, and that qualification still holds. The increased reward also is for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of anyone involved in the kidnapping.
The state of North Carolina has offered up to $5,000 for information that leads Aguilar’s safe return.
Aguilar was kidnapped Nov. 5 while she waited outside her home in Rosewood Mobile Home Park, located at 3525 Elizabethtown Road in Lumberton, to be driven to Lumberton Junior High School. A witness reported seeing a man dressed all in black and wearing a yellow bandana over his face force the teenager into an SUV and drive away with her. The green Ford Expedition was found Thursday off Quincey Drive near Alamac Road and has since been processed for evidence.
Investigators are working around the clock and following every lead, Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeill said during a news conference Tuesday. Investigators continue to ask for anyone who thinks they may have helpful information to call the dedicated tip line at 910-272-5871 or the Lumberton Police Department at 910-671-3845.
The investigation proceeds as if Aguilar is alive, de la Rocha said. Investigators aren’t sure if the teen still is in North Carolina.
“We don’t know, to be frank,” the agent said. “We don’t know.”
Chief McNeill pleaded for people to stop posting rumors, speculation and false information on social media.
“We need the rumors to stop,” he said. “We need the misinformation to stop.”
False tips and misinformation posted on social media are pulling away investigators who could be focusing on more substantial leads and information, McNeill said.
Late Tuesday afternoon there was a report of a possible sighting of Aguilar in Charlotte, according to Shelley Lynch, Public Affairs specialist for the FBI Charlotte Division.
“At this time, there is no reason to believe the report is accurate. Someone in Charlotte called police to report they saw someone who looks like Hania,” Lynch wrote in an emailed statement. “We greatly appreciate our partners at CMPD working to check on the report. We continue to encourage people to call if they have information to help #FindHania. She has not been found.”
Aguilar’s mother, Celsa Perez Hernandez, issued a statement through the FBI on Tuesday.
“I trust in God that my daughter will return,” the statement reads. “No one knows the pain I have in my heart. Despite all the criticism and speculation against me, I would never use my daughter’s name in order to take advantage of this situation.
“I thank all those people who have provided me help. Please, if you know something, call. I ask everyone not to make absurd comments. For the love of God respect my pain. I only want Hania, my princess, back. I miss her.”
People who live near Rosewood Mobile Home Park and near the intersection of Quincey Drive and Alamac Road are asked to come forward with any surveillance video or still photos that reveal more about the kidnapping, and when the SUV came to be where it was found.
Lumberton police and the FBI still are asking for help identifying the man recorded walking near the mobile home park about one hour before the kidnapping. The video can be viewed online at www.fbi.gov.
