Wednesday, June 18, 2025 - A little girl who disappeared in 2021 at the age of 1 has been found safe more than three years later.
Blessing Wasso, now 4, vanished on November 5, 2021, after
her mother, Erika Ephraim, also known as Ericka Wasso, disappeared with her
during a supervised visit at a Brighton Park facility
in Chicago.
At the time, the Illinois Department of Children
and Family Services (DCFS) had legal custody of the toddler and reported both
Blessing and her mother missing.
This spring, Chicago Police Department issued a renewed
missing person bulletin which suggested the pair may have fled
to California or Texas. A major breakthrough in the case then
came when US Marshals and Chicago police tracked the pair down to a home in
Chicago.
The US Marshals Service issued a press release Monday
announcing that CPD had helped locate a missing infant on January 1, 2025.
A source confirmed to CWB Chicago that the infant was
Blessing.
Chicago police confirmed that both mother and daughter were
'safely located' as of June 6.
The breakthrough came after investigators spotted a young
girl peering out of a second-floor window who looked strikingly alike to an
age-progressed photo of Blessing.
On June 3, officers launched a tactical operation at the
home, forcing their way inside.
Blessing was found inside and immediately placed back into
protective custody, according to a U.S. Marshals press release.
The little girl, who remains a ward of the state, was
returned to DCFS after spending over three years in hiding.
Officers arrested Ephraim as she tried to flee. She is now
being held in Cook County Jail.
She was arrested on various charges, including one for full
extradition from the California Department of Corrections and others related to
retail theft, stolen property, and robbery across Illinois and California.
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