On a summer day in 1972, five-year-old Alice Pereira was playing with her brother in the lobby of their apartment building, the Tyson Lane Apartments in New Dorp Beach, Staten Island, New York. It was July 7th, and at approximately 3:30 p.m., her brother left her unattended for just a moment. When he returned, Alice was gone. She was last seen wearing a red polo shirt, blue shorts with gold buttons, and red sneakers.
A possible sighting of her was reported shortly after in a park near the apartment building, but this lead did not result in her being found. Her mother reported her missing to the New York City Police Department at 6:15 p.m. that evening.
Initial investigations into Alice's disappearance briefly focused on her father, as her parents were separated and he lived in Manhattan. However, he was quickly cleared as a suspect. The investigation then turned to Andre Rand, a convicted child sex offender who was working as a painter at the Tyson Lane Apartments at the time of Alice's disappearance. A witness reported seeing Alice walking with Rand on the day she went missing. Rand, whose birth name is Frank Rashan, has a history of convictions for kidnapping and is a suspect in several other missing persons cases, particularly of children in the Staten Island area.
Despite the suspicions surrounding Andre Rand and reported sightings, no direct evidence has ever been found to definitively link him to Alice's disappearance, and he was never charged in her case due to a lack of evidence. The case grew cold, leaving Alice's family without answers. Over the years, volunteers have continued to search for any sign of Alice, particularly in areas associated with Rand, such as the grounds of the former Willowbrook State School, where the remains of another of his victims were found. The disappearance of Alice Pereira remains an unsolved case, a painful mystery for her family and the Staten Island community. Her story is a heartbreaking example of a child who vanished without a trace, and the lingering questions that haunt those left behind. The overview of the case reflects a sudden and unexplained disappearance, a promising but unproven suspect, and the ongoing pain of a family's search for a little girl who was last seen playing in her own apartment building.Last Seen: Jul 7, 1972
