ANSONIA — A 1‑year-old girl from Myrtle Avenue was still missing as of 6 p.m. Wednesday, police said.
An Amber Alert for Venessa Morales was issued Wednesday afternoon.
She was last seen by a relative Friday, according to Ansonia Police Lt. Patrick Lynch, the department’s public information officer.
No one knew the little girl was missing until Monday, when police found a woman dead inside 6 ½ Myrtle Ave., where the child lived.
Numbers To Call With Information
FBI: 203 503 5555
Ansonia PD: 203 735 1885
Homicide Victim’s Name Not Released
The name of the woman who was found in the house has not been released. Media outlets Tuesday reported the woman is the child’s mother. A police source also told The Valley Indy the victim is the missing child’s mother.
The woman’s death has been called a homicide by police. At a press conference Wednesday, Lynch said the medical examiner’s determined that the woman died from blunt force trauma.
However, the medical examiner still had not made a positive identification of the woman as of 6 p.m. Wednesday. Lynch said he believed the medical examiner was working to identify the woman through fingerprints.
That method could be being used because of the extreme violence of the crime — but police declined to state why the victim has not been positively identified.
The victim’s name will be officially released once police and the medical examiner are 100 percent certain of her identity.
Police found the woman Monday, after receiving two calls requesting “welfare checks” since the woman had not shown up for work.
Lynch said the father, who did not live at Myrtle Avenue, has been cooperating and talking with police.
No suspects have been identified in connection to the woman’s killing.
Silver Alert Goes Amber
Ansonia police issued a missing persons Silver Alert for Venessa at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 3). Police also circulated the child’s photo on social media, to the press and held a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
During the Tuesday press conference, Lynch had said an Amber Alert would be issued once police had exhausted investigative leads.
That Amber Alert went out about 3 p.m. Wednesday.
An Amber Alert casts a wider net, and automatically goes to cell phones, television screens, even electronic highway signs.
“We are still following leads, and information obtained has led us to believe that an Amber Alert is necessary and an important tool in locating Vennesa to bring her home safely,” Lynch said.
Lynch said that if the child is somewhere safe, “whoever she is with to please contact us.”
In response to a reporter’s question about the criteria needed for Amber Alerts, Lynch said that for an “immediate” Amber Alert usually contains “definitive” information, such as a vehicle and person involved.
“In this case, we had none of that. Our investigation started cold at the house. She was supposed to be at the house and she was not,” Lynch said. “So we started just backtracking through family members, relatives, and things like that.”
Lynch indicated that the Amber Alert is a way to keep the information flowing to police.
“Information has been coming in every day and we continue to want the information to come in,” he said.
While answering the Amber Alert question, Lynch again said that if someone has Venessa, that person should contact police.
“This is not about punishing someone who may have her. This is about getting her and making sure she’s safe,” Lynch said.
A reporter then asked if police have a “definitive person in mind.” Lynch said: “We are not going to release any information as to where our leads are taking us at this point.”
According to 211 Connecticut:
“An Amber Alert has to meet federal criteria and can only be triggered by state police, not a local police department. Police have to believe an abduction has taken place and the child must be at risk of serious injury or death. Police also must have a description of the child, captor, or captors vehicle and the child must be 17 years old or younger.”
In addition to the FBI, police in Derby and Stratford are assisting in the case. Lynch said police tracked down a lead in Stratford Wednesday but could not elaborate.
Derby’s full detective bureau is also on the case, Lynch said.
Meanwhile, Venessa’s relatives have been circulating her photo on social media and asking people to call police.
Authorities said they may hold daily 5 p.m. press conferences to keep the public informed.
