TX AVA MARIE GONZALES: Missing from Austin, TX - December 2017 - Age 2 *Reported in 2025*

Austin police looking for girl missing since 2017, sister found malnourished in closet

The Austin Police Department is searching for a missing 9-year-old girl who hasn't been seen since December 2017, amid a disturbing child abuse case involving h

cbsaustin.com

Austin police looking for girl missing since 2017, sister found malnourished in closet
The Austin Police Department is searching for a missing 9-year-old girl who hasn't been seen since December 2017, amid a disturbing child abuse case involving her mother.

Authorities are seeking the public's assistance in locating Ava Marie Gonzales, who was last seen at age 2 in the custody of her mother, Virginia Marie Gonzales.

Virginia Gonzales, 33, was arrested April 24 by the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force on charges of injury to a child with serious bodily injury in connection with Ava's 7-year-old sibling.

According to an arrest affidavit, officers responded April 3 to a welfare check at an apartment in the 5500 block of Ross Road, where they found a severely malnourished 7-year-old girl who had been barricaded in a closet.

The affidavit states the 7-year-old victim was found soiled and weighed only 29 pounds. The child had reportedly been confined to a 3-foot by 2-foot closet space for approximately a month and given only "one corn dog and a 1/2 cup of water a day."

Medical professionals at Dell Children's Medical Center determined the victim suffered "moderate to severe cerebral atrophy" from prolonged malnutrition, damage from which she "will never recover," according to the affidavit.

Six other children, ranging in age from 2 to 14 years old, were also found in the apartment.

Investigators noted the apartment's pantry, refrigerator and freezer were stocked with various food items.

Police expressed serious concern for Ava's welfare given the circumstances in which her sibling was found.


Media - AVA MARIE GONZALES: Missing from Austin, TX - December 2017 - Age 2 *Reported in 2025*

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Austin police seek leads in missing child case after mother arrested for abuse of 7-year-old

Ava Marie Gonzales was last seen in December 2017 when she was 2 years old. Her mother was arrested last month for abuse of her 7-year-old daughter.

www.kvue.com

Austin police seek leads in missing child case after mother arrested for abuse of 7-year-old​

The Austin Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing 9-year-old girl who hasn’t been seen since December 2017.

Police said Ava Marie Gonzales was last seen by family and friends in December 2017 when she was 2 years old, in the custody of her mother, Virginia Gonzales.

Virginia Gonzales, 33, was arrested in Del Valle last month after she was accused of keeping her 7-year-old daughter imprisoned in a closet for multiple weeks.

The child's grandmother allegedly found the girl barricaded in a bedroom closet on April 3.

Court documents allege the child was soiled, weighed just 29 pounds and was severely malnourished.

Medical professionals report the young victim suffered permanent brain damage from prolonged starvation.

The girl and her six siblings – between the ages of 2 and 14 years old – are now in protective custody while Gonzales remains in jail.

Jessica Huynh is a criminal defense attorney who previously worked in the Child Abuse unit at the Travis County District Attorney's Office.

"From what I have so far, it sounds like there was a massive failure on multiple ends, potentially CPS, potentially the investigation from 2017, but also assisting this mother while under some sort of scrutiny in 2017 to now," Huynh said. "It could definitely be something where a person is charged with the first degree and could face five to 99 years or life."

 

[Guess Who]

The pic posted of her doesn't look very nourished either.

 

[Kimster]

I'm going to be SICK! What causes such a lack of human connection in these "people"?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Del Valle mother arrested, accused of locking child in closet for weeks

The 7-year-old girl weighed just 29 pounds and was severely malnourished.

www.kvue.com

Del Valle mother arrested, accused of locking child in closet for weeks​

Austin police say a mother in Del Valle faces first-degree felony charges after she was accused of keeping her 7-year-old daughter imprisoned in a closet for multiple weeks.

Virginia Gonzales, 33, was arrested after the child's grandmother found the girl barricaded in a bedroom closet on April 3.

Police said the tiny closet she was in measured less than 5 feet by 2 feet and had no light or ventilation. Due to the other items found inside the closet, the girl had approximately 3 feet by 1 foot, 10 inches of actual space.

The girl’s siblings allegedly told their grandmother that Gonzales had ordered them to lock the girl in the closet because she had issues controlling her bladder and was “always getting into stuff,” eating things she was “not supposed to.”

Her 10-year-old brother told police the girl was only allowed to eat one corndog for the day and given half a cup of water. The brother was ordered to clean the closet because the girl would urinate and defecate inside, police said.

Medical professionals report the young victim suffered permanent brain damage from prolonged starvation. She was taken to a local hospital to prevent refeeding syndrome, which is a metabolic disturbance that occurs when a starved or severely malnourished person is abruptly refed, leading to electrolyte imbalances and fluid shifts.

The girl and her six siblings – who are between the ages of 2 and 14 years old – are now in protective custody while Gonzales remains in jail.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Have you seen this child? Ava Marie Gonzales

Missing From: Del Valle, TX. Missing Date: December 25, 2017. Ava's photo is shown age-progressed to 9 years. She was last seen on December 25, 2017..

www.missingkids.org

Ava's photo is shown age-progressed to 9 years. She was last seen on December 25, 2017.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]