Bianca Lebron disappearance still an open case after 20 years

BRIDGEPORT — As the 20th anniversary of Bianca Elaine Lebron’s disappearance approaches, investigators say there is no new information in the case to share.

Lebron was waiting in line to enter the former Elias Howe School on Clinton Avenue on Nov. 7, 2001, when she told classmates she was leaving to go with an “uncle” on a shopping trip. The then-10-year-old was last seen getting into a brown and tan van driven by a man. She hasn’t been seen since.

Officials previously said Lebron did not have an uncle. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System entry for Lebron indicates that the van was an older model with several sanded areas, tinted windows and chrome trim on its sides.

Sunday marks 20 years since her disappearance, which back in 2001 launched a nationwide search. Since then, her case has become the subject of many television specials.

And as of Friday, authorities continue to probe her disappearance.

“This case is still open and the Bridgeport Police Department investigates any leads as they come in,” said Scott Appleby, the city’s director of emergency communications and emergency management.

He said police did not have any new information on the case to share.

Back in 2011, police got a tip from New Mexico, where someone in an online chat room claimed they saw a picture that looked like the missing girl. It wasn’t her.

In July 2009, police dug up a section of the west end of Seaside Park for two days after getting a tip she was buried there. Authorities found nothing.

In 2003, police questioned an individual they believed might have had a relationship with the girl. He was later released after denying knowing anything about Lebron’s whereabouts. In an interview with Connecticut Post after his release, the man and his mother denied knowing anything about her disappearance.

Carmelita Torres, Lebron’s mother, described her daughter as a happy child who loved school in a 2011 interview with the Connecticut Post. She could not be reached for comment Friday.

Lebron would be 30 now. Authorities have generated age-progression photos of what they believe resembles what Lebron would look like more recently. She has a birthmark on her forehead. She has brown hair and hazel eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police tips line at 203-576-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.