THE FBI have renewed efforts to find a missing child who vanished in 2016 before the body of her mother was found buried in a shallow grave.
Arianna Fitts was 2 when she was last seen alive in February 2016 in Oakland, California.
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Two months later the body of her mother Nicole, 32, was found by parks workers buried in a shallow grave and covered with a plywood board which had been painted with a strange symbol.
San Francisco Police and the FBI have now increased a reward for information over the case to $250,000 KTVU reports.
Police said Nicole Fitts had been “summoned to meet a person known to her” at San Francisco’s McLaren Park on April 1, 2016. They have not offered further details.
Nicole and Arianna were both reported missing by family members on April 5, 2016.
Nicole’s body was discovered in a shallow grave covered by the painted board a few days later on April 8. Her cause of death has not been revealed by police.
Arianna had not been since February 2016.
Investigators have since released a drawing, done by a forensic sketch artist, showing what Arianna may look like now as an 8-year-old.
No suspects or persons of interest have ever been named in the case.
“We do not believe that Arianna was with Nicole at the time of her death, but we do believe Arianna’s disappearance is related to Nicole’s murder,” said Scott Schelble, FBI San Francisco’s assistant special agent in charge.
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Law enforcement say they have had new leads in recent months, and people have come forward with new information.
“There have been significant advances both in digital and biological forensic evidence that is allowing us to see much more than what we knew six years ago,” said Schelble.
Nicole’s sister Contessa Fitts told KTVU: “It makes me sad because I can’t see her smile anymore. And it makes me angry because that was stolen.”
She added, “The biggest thing that I can do for Nikki, that can be done for Nikki is to bring her daughter home.”
Nicole Fitts was a mother to two little girls and a former Best Buy employee.
Last year, there was an $100,000 reward to help find the little girl.
“We’ll pursue all leads, examine all evidence and seek out all individuals who may have information on this case,” James Aherne, acting commander of investigations at the San Francisco Police Department, told KTVU.
Scott Schelble, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI in San Francisco told the news station that there has been progress in the case as agents recover additional evidence.
“We will never give up until this case comes to a resolution. ” Schelble told KTVU Fox 2. “We will never give up until we have justice for Nicole and justice for Arianna.”
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