Equilla Lynn Hodrick

Equilla, circa 1985; Age-progression to age 46 (circa 2022)

  • Missing Since 08/12/1985
  • Missing From the Bronx, New York
  • Classification Non-Family Abduction
  • Sex Female
  • Race Black
  • Date of Birth 08/19/1976 (47)
  • Age 8 years old
  • Height and Weight 4'11, 80 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description Cut-off blue jeans, a white tank top with yellow and red marks, and light blue sneakers.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Equilla had a gap between her upper front teeth at the time of her 1985 disappearance. She has a scar near her right eye and a scar on her right cheek, and discolorations on her buttocks and back. Equilla's ears are pierced. She wears eyeglasses.

Details of Disappearance

Equilla and her mother were sitting on the front porch of their Briggs Avenue residence in the New York City borough of the Bronx on August 12, 1985.

Her mother turned to talk to friends at approximately 6:30 p.m. that evening, and saw Equilla running to the corner of Briggs Avenue and 194th Street towards a parked Mr. Softee ice cream truck. Her mother was eight months pregnant at the time and unable to chase Equilla, but the child always returned quickly.

Equilla's cousin told her mother that she saw Equilla playing video games in an arcade on the corner later in the evening. Her mother became concerned when Equilla did not return home and summoned authorities. Equilla was never seen again.

An extensive search was launched for the child. Bloodhounds picked up Equilla's scent and led detectives to Webster Avenue in the Bronx, near the tracks of the Metro-North train line. No sign of Equilla was located.

The detective who was originally in charge of her case retired in the late 1990s, but said Equilla was street-smart and knew her own phone number. Her case has recently been reopened by a cold cases squad in the New York City Police Department.

Updated 5 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated April 9, 2023; age-progression updated.