Soraida Rocelia Lopes is a female teenager who remains the subject of a missing-child case connected to Phoenix, Arizona. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children currently lists her as 16 years old and reports that she has been missing since March 19, 2024, from Phoenix. The public notice does not describe the events that unfolded immediately before she disappeared, where in Phoenix she was last seen, who last saw her, or what she may have been wearing. Those unanswered details leave much of the beginning of Soraida's story outside the public record. What is clear is that her disappearance became serious enough for her information and photograph to be circulated through the national missing-child system, with the Phoenix Police Department identified as the law-enforcement agency to contact regarding her whereabouts.
As the effort to find Soraida continued, investigators warned that the search might extend well beyond the place where she disappeared. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children states that Soraida may still be somewhere in the Phoenix area, but authorities have also considered the possibility that she could travel to Minnesota, Iowa, or Nebraska. Another particularly important detail is that she may use the last name "Lopez" rather than "Lopes." That alternate spelling gives investigators and members of the public another name to keep in mind when reviewing possible sightings or information about her location. The official notice does not publicly identify a vehicle associated with her disappearance, a person believed to have accompanied her, or any suspect connected to the case. It likewise provides no public explanation for why those three Midwestern states were identified as possible destinations, leaving the reasoning behind that part of the alert known only to investigators and others familiar with the circumstances.
Soraida's case is tracked by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children under case number 2018880 and by law enforcement under NCIC number M527915478. The official poster directs anyone with information to the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6151, while information can also be provided through NCMEC's 24-hour missing-children hotline at 1-800-843-5678. Her continuing presence on the national missing-child poster underscores how important even a seemingly minor recollection could be: someone who remembers seeing her, recognizes either surname, encountered her after she left Phoenix, or has information concerning a possible connection to Arizona, Minnesota, Iowa, or Nebraska could possess information investigators need. Because the publicly released facts remain limited, it would be inappropriate to fill the gaps with assumptions about why Soraida disappeared or what may have happened afterward. The known story is therefore both simple and deeply troubling: Soraida Rocelia Lopes disappeared from Phoenix, her whereabouts became unknown, authorities widened their attention to several possible states and an alternate surname, and the search has continued with her case maintained in the national missing-child system. In overview, Soraida's case remains one defined by very few publicly disclosed circumstances but several concrete avenues for recognition-a young girl missing from Phoenix, the names Lopes and Lopez, possible connections to Minnesota, Iowa, or Nebraska, and an ongoing appeal for the information that could finally explain where she went and help bring answers to those waiting for her.
Last Seen: Mar 19, 2024
