Above: Elias circa, 1987
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: February 2, 1987
Missing From: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: January 15, 1987
Age: 2 weeks old
Height and Weight: 1’9″ and 8 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Hispanic Male, Brown hair, Brown eyes
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A white knit sweater, a white long sleeved shirt, white knit pants with a belt, and a pair of white socks. Elias was wrapped in a cream colored blanket at the time of his 1987 abduction
NCMEC Number: 603859
Details of Disappearance
Elias was abducted from a pediatric clinic in Los Angeles, California on February 2nd 1987. His mother, Maria Pacheco, brought him to the LA-USC Medical Center located at 2051 Marengo Street for a routine checkup. While they were in the waiting room of the clinic, an unidentified woman approached Pacheco and started making nice conversation with the young mother.
Maria was still recovering from her caesarean section and could not walk very well. When Elias began to cry, the woman offered to watch the child while Pacheco went to find some formula to feed him. When she returned, the woman and Elias were gone. Maria said she didn’t go far and they were gone within a short time.
The unidentified female suspect is described as being Hispanic and being in her late 20s to early 30s; likely 32 years old in 1987. She had light colored frosted black hair and a medium-dark complexion. She stood between 5’0″ and 5’2″ while weighing between 135-140 pounds. She wore a yellow blouse and Maria described her as being well groomed at the time.
Police believe that Monroy’s abduction could be linked to an earlier abduction attempt which occurred in Hesperia, California which is 70 miles away from where Elias was taken. The attempted abduction occurred on January 14th 1987, a mother and her four month old baby were at a post office when an unidentified woman matching the description of Elias’s abductor approached the woman and asked to hold her baby.
The mother declined her offer and the woman left. A short time later, the mother and her baby were leaving a Safeway Supermarket when the mother noticed the same woman again. The woman approached her again and asked to hold the baby, when the mother refused to hand her child over the suspect then said “I want the a baby” and tried to take the baby away from her. The mother kicked the woman before an unidentified man tried to grab the baby as well. She kicked him as well and made it away.
The mother took her baby as the couple fled and ran back into the store. Police have stated that while there’s no evidence connecting the two incidents, the suspect descriptions in both the Hesperia abduction attempt and Elias’s abduction were both very similar. The woman sought in the Hesperia case was described as Hispanic and being between 30-35 years old in 1987. She stood at 5’7″ and weighed approximately 150 pounds.
Police believe the woman in both cases was probably the same person. They also suspect that Elias’s abductor lived locally and probably wanted to raise the child as her own. She has never been identified despite a sketch of her being released.
There were no photos of Elias that were taken after his birth but in 2023, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created an age-progressed image of Monroy showing how he’d look as an adult. Police and other experts believe Elias is alive and is unaware that he was abducted. His mother continues to hope for his return. Elias’s case remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Los Angeles Police Department 877-275-5273
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Los Angeles Times 02/04/1987
The Los Angeles Times 02/15/1987