Left: April circa, 1983
Right: Age Progressed to age 33
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: December 3, 1983
Missing From: Washington, District of Columbia
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: August 17, 1983
Age: 3 months old
Height and Weight: 2’0″ and 11 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: African American Female, Black hair, Black/Brown eyes, April has a 1-inch birthmark on her right wrist and her nickname is “Niki”
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A pink and white hooded snowsuit and a blue sleeper with a red number 1 on the left side of the front of it
NCMEC Number: 708557
Details of Disappearance
April was allegedly abducted by an unidentified female subject from Washington D.C on December 3rd 1983. She was traveling with her mother, Eleanor Marie Williams, in a bus known as motor coach from Suffolk, Virginia to Junction City, Kansas to visit her boyfriend. They traveled 200 miles away to a downtown area of Washington D.C and were due to wait 3 hours until they could travel again.
At some point as she was sitting, Eleanor said that a woman she did not know came and sat next to her. She asked Eleanor about her destination and about April. The woman then asked her if she could hold April so that Eleanor could have a break, she was tired from the long trip and still had over 1,000 miles to go.
The woman called herself Latoya and she kept saying how pretty April was. Latoya then said that the baby needed a diaper change and offered to take April to the bathroom to change her. Eleanor consented and allowed her to do so. She said that when 10 minutes passed and Latoya never returned with the baby, she got nervous and started searching for the baby.
She went on the bus to see if the baby or woman were on board but they weren’t and Eleanor never saw her baby again. Some agencies and news outlets stated that Latoya took April to a fast food counter to purchase soda but Eleanor denies this is what occurred and the information is believed to not be correct.
Several hours after the kidnapping, the driver of a Metrobus and several witnesses came forward and reported that they had seen a woman matching the description of Latoya. She was seen carrying an infant and got off at Rhode Island Avenue and 18th Street NE which is located near the Prince George’s County line. The area was searched but nothing was found by police.
Latoya is described as having an African American Female with a dark brown complexion with spots on her face. She had pierced ears with two holes in each ear. She stood at 5’3″ and had short, red, dark, wavy hair. She was in her 20s at the time. She wore a white ski jacket with purple floral lining and green pants. She might use the names Rene or Rene Latoya and might have a sister whose name is Latisha or Natisha. Her astrological sign might be “Leo”. It’s unknown if Latoya was her real name and she remains unknown.
Investigators questioned and subjected Eleanor to a polygraph to which she passed and is not considered a suspect in her daughters case. She has been painfully affected by her decision to let Latoya hold her daughter and hopes to find her one day.
April has not been seen or heard from since her abduction and investigators suspect that April was taken with the intention of being raised by another person. She might not know she’s a missing child. Her abduction remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Washington D.C Metropolitan Police Department 202-727-9099
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children