Disappearance of Anthonette Cayedito

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Anthonette Cayedito
Anthonette Cayedito missing photo.png
Born
Anthonette Christine Cayedito

(1976-12-25)December 25, 1976
Gallup, New Mexico, U.S.
DisappearedApril 6, 1986 (aged 9)
Gallup, New Mexico, U.S.
StatusMissing for 35 years, 4 months and 26 days
Height4 ft 7 in (1.40 m)

Anthonette Christine Cayedito /əntoʊnɛt kaɪeɪdɪtoʊ/ (born December 25, 1976) is a Native American girl who disappeared from her home in Gallup, New Mexico, on April 6, 1986.[1] Although law enforcement officials believe her to be deceased, she is still officially listed as a missing person and her case remains open.

Background[]

Cayedito was born on December 25, 1976, to Penny Cayedito (1952–1999),[2] of the Navajo Nation, and Anthony Montoya (1951–2012), a father of Italian and Hispanic descent.[3] After her parents' separation, Anthonette and her younger sisters, Wendy and Sadie were raised by their mother in Gallup, New Mexico.

Anthonette was described as being level headed, wise beyond her years, scholastically dedicated, friendly, caring, and dependable.[4] By the time she was six years old, she was cooking for her sisters, ironed their clothes for the week, and played a vital role in caring for them.[5] She was known by her peers for her displayed concern for the well-being of others, particularly if they were downcast or otherwise in need. Her youngest sister later described Anthonette as having a “caregiver’s heart”.[4] Her favorite color was purple, she enjoyed listening to the music of Michael Jackson and Ronnie Milsap, and she was nicknamed “Squirrel”.

She was a fourth grade student at Lincoln Elementary School, where she was an attentive, above-average student who displayed a flair for sports and physical activities, winning the Presidential Fitness award in her fourth year. Outside of school, Cayedito also displayed strong interest in her weekly Bible studies, and was devoted to her religious faith. At the time of her disappearance, she was living with her mom and sisters at 204 Arnold Circle #9, Gallup, NM 87301.[5]

Disappearance[]

Cayedito disappeared from her home on U.S. Route 66 in Gallup, New Mexico, in the early morning hours of April 6, 1986.[6] That evening, Cayedito's mother, Penny, had been out with friends at a local bar, and Anthonette, along with her younger sisters Wendy and Sadie, was with a babysitter.[6] Penny arrived home around midnight and sent the babysitter home.[6]

According to Wendy, there had been a knock at the door around 3 a.m.; both of the girls were still awake, and Anthonette answered the door. When she asked who was there, the knocker identified himself as "Uncle Joe". When she opened the door, she was grabbed by two men. She kicked and screamed "Let me go! Let me go!", as the men forced her into a brown van. Wendy didn't recognize the men; she didn't get a look at their faces.[3] The following morning, when Penny awoke to prepare the girls for Bible school, she realized Anthonette was not in her bedroom. After inquiring with neighbors, she phoned police.[3]

Alleged sightings[]

External image
image icon Age progression of Cayedito to age 42

One year after Cayedito's disappearance, the Gallup Police Department received a frantic phone call in which a young girl claimed to be Anthonette Cayedito; in the call, she said she was in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Before the girl could reveal her whereabouts, an angry adult male voice was heard shouting, "Who said you could use the phone?!" followed by the girl screaming and the sounds of a scuffle, and the phone call was then cut off.[6] Cayedito's mother, Penny, believed the voice to be her daughter's. She did not recognize the man's voice.[3]

Four years later, in 1991, a waitress at a restaurant in Carson City, Nevada, encountered a teenage girl matching Cayedito's description who continually knocked her utensils to the floor, seemingly attempting to get the waitress's attention. According to the waitress, the girl grabbed her hand and squeezed it firmly each time the waitress handed back the utensils. The girl was in the company of an unkempt couple. After they left, the waitress cleaned their table and found a napkin under the plate the girl had been eating from. It contained two brief messages: "Help Me" and "Call the Police", written on it.[6]

Theories[]

Police interviewed an uncle who was married to Penny's sister, but declined to name him a suspect.[3] Investigators believe Cayedito may have to be deceased, although her whereabouts remain unknown as of 2021.[1] Theories range from her being either a victim of homicide or possibly human trafficking. Her mother, Penny, died on April 18, 1999 from a combination of liver cirrhosis and cardiac issues[7] aged 46; in 2016 police stated they believed Penny may have had more information than she had given police concerning her daughter's disappearance, citing a failed lie detector test.[6] Anthonette's father, Anthony, died on August 17, 2012.[8]

Aftermath[]

Three years after Cayedito's disappearance, her 25-year-old mentally handicapped step aunt, Louisa Estrada (sister to Larry Estrada), disappeared on September 5, 1989 from Gallup, NM.[9] Like Anthonette, Louisa has never been found, and there have been questions as to potential connections between the two cases.

In a 2016 interview with the Albuquerque Journal, Wendy Montoya, Anthonette's youngest sister (who was five at the time of the her sister's abduction), spoke of the struggles that she and her family went through. “It just broke my whole family up. It was a very dark and dysfunctional time.”[4] Montoya revealed that she and her mother could barely talk about Anthonette without crying, and then without drinking and getting high. “That was how we coped with the pain, to numb it, not to forget about it but to put it on the shelf, you know?”[4]

The trauma of losing her sister lead Montoya into a life of drug addiction, alcoholism, gang affiliation, and acquiring a criminal record throughout her adolescence into her young adulthood. Her lifestyle inevitably caused her to lose custody of her children to the state. Around 2007, Montoya successfully turned her life around. “I went into rehab. I struggled to get my kids back, struggled to get away from the old person I was, to break the cycle I was raised up in, and to get far away from here. And I did it.”[4] She further added that if she could not find her sister, she could at least find herself.

As of 2016, Wendy is reported to reside in Bakersfield, California,[4] where she leads a private and productive life with her own family and career. Montoya admits that although her memories of Anthonette are vague (due to the fact that her sister was taken when she was five), the loss still haunts her and she misses her to this day. For Wendy, Anthonette is indelibly frozen in time “at age 9, a little girl with a jumble of teeth, soft brown eyes and a caregiver’s heart.”[4] Montoya still maintains hope that her sister is somewhere out there, and there is still time to discover the truth of what became of her. Furthermore stating “I’m not going to accept that she’s dead. I need proof.”[10]

The life and whereabouts of Wendy's middle sister, Sadie Montoya, are unknown. However, it has been reported that Anthonette's disappearance and the events that followed lead to the two sisters becoming estranged.

Media depictions[]

Cayedito's disappearance was featured on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. The episode aired on December 16, 1992, nine days before what would’ve been Anthonette’s sixteenth birthday.[3]

Unidentified persons exclusions[]

According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, the following decedents were ruled out as being the remains of Cayedito.

Name Location Date Age Cause of death Circumstances
Apache Junction Jane Doe Apache Junction, Arizona August 6, 1992 16-18 Undetermined Decomposed body found near a desert-like area in near highway US 60.[11]
Bernalillo County Jane Doe Albuquerque, New Mexico May 2, 1996 14-19 Undetermined Remains of an unidentified female were found near 98th and Tower Road in Albuquerque, NM. The decedent was wrapped in dark green or black plastic bags (six in all). The top of the outer bag was tied with a green electrical wire with a copper colored core. The bottom of the bag was tied about the legs with a white 1/4" diameter rope. There were multiple fractures of the left skull and left lower leg present. She was likely a mixture of white, Hispanic, and Native American.[12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Anthonette Christine Cayedito". The Charley Project. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  2. ^ "Arizona, Payson, Obituaries, 1948-2008," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2W7-HHRB : accessed 12 September 2016), Teresa Or Penny Cayedito, 1999; citing Payson, Gila, Arizona, United States, The Arizona Republic newspaper, Phoenix; Payson Roundup newspapers and Northern Gila County Genealogy Society Library, Payson; FHL microfilm 100,743,143.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Anthonette Cayedito". Unsolved Mysteries. Cosgrove Mueller Productions. December 23, 1992. NBC.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Holding out hope for girl who vanished 30 years ago » Albuquerque Journal". www.abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "085 - The Abduction of Anthonette Cayedito". Trace Evidence. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Kruger, Joline Gutierrez (April 6, 2016). "Holding out hope for girl who vanished 30 years ago". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  7. ^ Staff, Gallupsun. "30 years later: Abduction of Gallup girl continues to intrigue local residents". Gallup Sun. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  8. ^ "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVRR-MGTX : 10 September 2015), Anthony Christopher Montoya, New Mexico, United States, 17 August 2012; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Gallup Independent, The, born-digital text.
  9. ^ Locke, Patrice (3 October 1989). "Search Continues for Gallup Woman". The Albuquerque Journal: 37 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Staff, Gallupsun. "30 years later: Abduction of Gallup girl continues to intrigue local residents". Gallup Sun. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  11. ^ "The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) | Case #6349". NamUs.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  12. ^ "The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) | Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP914". NamUs.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-04.

Coordinates: 35°31′19″N 108°45′32″W / 35.521958°N 108.758924°W / 35.521958; -108.758924

External links[]

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