He was abducted as a newborn. 45 years later, there's a nationwide push to find him
(KSWB/KUSI) — The search for a Southern California man who was abducted as a newborn 45 years ago is going coast to coast.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) announced Tuesday that it is partnering with a national video network to get an age-progressed image of the man on thousands of screens in the hopes of someone recognizing him.
Kevin Verville, Jr. was abducted at just 17 days old from Oceanside, California, on July 1, 1980.
Investigators say an unknown woman calling herself “Sheila” arrived at an apartment in a complex that housed military families stationed at nearby Camp Pendleton.
According to NCMEC, the woman said she was a social worker from the organization “HELP,” which assisted military families, and offered to take Kevin and his mother, Angelina, to the group’s office to receive diapers and formula and to enroll them in their program.
The mother and son got into the vehicle with the woman, who then drove to a home in a rural area allegedly to pick up another mother who needed to be enrolled, according to NCMEC. The center said the woman convinced Angelina to get out and knock on the door of the home, but once Angelina exited, the woman allegedly fled with the newborn.
Investigators determined that the woman had spent several days in the military neighborhood, potentially speaking with families trying to find a baby to take.
All that is known about the woman is that she may have been in her 20s, with red or blond frizzy hair, with a tattoo on her left hand of a circle with an "X" inside.
"Kevin's family has endured 45 years of unimaginable pain, believing his case was forgotten. Now, with national attention, there's real hope for answers," said Angeline Hartmann, from NCMEC.
An age-progressed image of Kevin was released by NCMEC in June, showing what he may look like today.
NCMEC is now partnering with GSTV, a network that operates videos at thousands of gas pumps across the country, to display an age-progressed image of Kevin during July.
The hope is that it increases the chances of someone recognizing what baby Kevin may look like now.
Anyone with information about Kevin is asked to call NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678.
"We believe Kevin is still out there, likely living under another name, unaware he was kidnapped as a baby. He could be anywhere in the country, so it's critical to reach as many people as possible," Hartmann said.