1-year-old may be in Missouri after mom found dead in Illinois home, cops say
UPDATE: Jaclyn “Angel” Dobbs, a 1-year-old girl missing after her mother’s death, was found dead Nov. 11, McClatchy News reported.
Police are reportedly questioning a person of interest, who was found in Missouri driving Ja’nya Murphy’s vehicle.
Original story:
A 21-year-old woman was found dead in her Illinois home, and now police are searching for her missing 1-year-old daughter.
Police in Wheeling — about 30 miles northwest of Chicago — were sent to Ja’nya Murphy’s home Nov. 9 when officers learned she had “not been to work, nor had been in contact with family members since the previous day.”
Officers entered Murphy’s home through the balcony of her apartment, where they found she “had apparently been murdered,” police said. Her 1-year-old daughter, Jaclyn “Angel” Dobbs, was missing.
Police are now searching for Angel but have not announced any suspects in her possible kidnapping.
The child may be in Missouri, where Murphy’s 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan was found abandoned, KMOV reported. Police did not state where in Missouri the vehicle was found.
“They have no idea where she is and obviously, we are very concerned about her and we’re looking for the public’s assistance in locating her,” Wheeling Police Deputy Chief Al Steffen told WBBM.
An “endangered missing person advisory” was issued Nov. 11 for Angel, according to WLS. She is described as 2 feet tall, 24 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, the TV station reported.
Murphy graduated in 2018 from Stevenson High School, just north of Wheeling, and lived with her daughter, police said.
Brently Wright, a friend of Murphy’s, described her as “one of the sweetest people you could meet, a loving and caring person,” according to WLS.
Steffen said Murphy was “targeted” and her death was not a “random thing,” the Chicago Tribune reported.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Wheeling Police at 847-459-2690.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 9:14 AM.