Left: Andre circa, 1989
Right: Age Progressed to age 28
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: March 29, 1989
Missing From: Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: February 17, 1989
Age: 1 month old
Height and Weight: 1’7″ and 10 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: African American Male, Black hair, Brown eyes
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A beige knitted sweater, a gray suit with two horizontal red lines, white socks, Andre was last known to be wearing a beige knitted hat at the time of his disappearance
NCMEC Number: 721896
Details of Disappearance
Andre was last seen in Brooklyn, New York on March 29th 1989. He was last known to be with his mother, Monique Rivera. They were seen getting into a vehicle driven by two women that Rivera had befriended the previous day. They were observed entering the vehicle at 2:00 pm. Andre and his mother were never seen or heard from again afterwards.
The previous day, Monique was taking Andre and her two older sons for a walk through their neighborhood when she encountered these two women. The women were both African American and were both approximately 30 years old and 22 years old. The woman who appeared to be 30 was described as heavyset and the woman who was approximately 22 had long red hair. They both stood at approximately 5 feet 7 inches.
They appeared to be driving in a 1988 or 1989 Burgundy Pontiac Grand Am Sports Edition. The vehicle had tinted windows and possible Maryland state license plates. It’s possible that Monique might have known these two girls from when she was in middle school. The women both asked her about her children and even asked to hold Andre. They then convinced Monique to go shopping with them.
Monique purchased an outfit from a store called Canadians and the women brought her a pair of pants and a shirt before taking her back home to her apartment. When she was home, Monique told her husband, Timothy Bryant, about these two women and how they used a fraudulent credit card to pay for the clothing. She also mentioned that she planned to go shopping with them in White Plains, New York, the following day.
Timothy’s sister, Patricia, agreed to banana it her two older children and went to the apartment on the day of their disappearance to do so. Monique was instructed by the two women to meet them outside of her apartment, they ddI not go to the apartment to get her. They also insisted on having her bring Andre on the trip.
The next morning, the body of Monique was discovered in a wooded area near the Eastchester Bay, located near City Island Road in the Bronx, New York. She was the victim of a homicide and was killed by a blow to the head and strangulation. The body was identified a few days later when Timothy posted an ad in the newspapers asking for her whereabouts.
There was no evidence of Andre’s whereabouts at the scene or the two women and their vehicle. They have never been identified. Monique was 25 years old when she was killed. Investigators believe that Andre was probably abducted so he could be sold in an illegal adoption ring.
It’s been considered that his disappearance might be connected to the unsolved disappearances of Shane Walker and Christopher Dansby. They both disappeared from a park in Manhattan, NY at separate times in 1989. All three of the missing boys have matching descriptions and physical traits and were all very young when they were abducted.
The cases haven’t been officially linked and there’s no evidence that they were in fact sold into an adoption ring. Andre’s presumed abduction and his mothers murder remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
New York City Police Department 646-610-6914
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children