Blessing Wasso was 1 year old when she was last seen in Chicago, Illinois, on November 5, 2021, during a court-ordered supervised visit with her mother, Erika Ephraim, who was also identified in public reporting as Ericka Wasso. Blessing’s case began in the Brighton Park area of Chicago, where officials said her mother visited her at a facility while the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services had legal custody of the child. During that visit, Blessing disappeared with her mother.
The case was especially urgent because Blessing was only a toddler at the time, too young to protect herself, communicate her circumstances, or independently seek help. Public missing-child notices described Blessing as having brown hair, brown eyes, and a light complexion, and authorities noted that it was unknown what she had been wearing when she disappeared.
As the search continued, Chicago police treated the case as a missing child investigation involving a very young girl believed to be with her mother. Authorities reported that Blessing and her mother may have traveled to California or Texas, widening the scope of concern beyond Illinois and suggesting investigators were looking at possible out-of-state movement. In May 2024, more than two years after Blessing vanished, Chicago police reissued public appeals asking for help locating her, and the department directed anyone with information to contact Area One Detectives-SVU or call 911. The renewed alert brought Blessing’s name back into public view and underscored that, despite the passage of time, investigators had not stopped looking for her.
Official reports indicate that Blessing was found alive in June 2025 and that she is no longer an active missing persons case. According to reporting based on law-enforcement announcements, the Chicago Police Department requested help from the U.S. Marshals Service in early 2025, and a joint investigation eventually focused on residences in Chicago and Blue Island. Investigators identified a Chicago address as a key lead after confirming that Erika Ephraim was living there and observing a young girl, believed to be about 4 or 5 years old, inside the residence. Authorities compared the child to an age-progressed image of Blessing prepared through missing-child resources, and on June 3, 2025, officers moved forward with an operation to recover her. Ephraim was apprehended, Blessing was taken into protective custody, and she was returned to DCFS care. Chicago police later announced that both Blessing and her mother had been safely located. In overview, Blessing’s case began with the disappearance of a 1-year-old child during a supervised visit in Chicago, continued for more than three years through public alerts and multi-agency investigative work, and ended with the deeply significant news that she had been recovered alive.Last Seen: Nov 5, 2021
