FOUND: Illinois Find Missing 4-Year-Old Girl, Reunited With Mom

Update - 3 p.n., 1/16/2025

From the Rock Island Police Department via social media:

Blessing has been found and reunited with her mother.

Update - 2:35 p.m., 1/16/2025

The Rock Island Police are giving a follow-up from a press conference Thursday morning regarding the ongoing search for Aoci Blessing (pronounced A-oh-chi).

Officials say that Aoci was seated inside a brown Saturn Outlook bearing Illinois plates “EP98549”. The vehicle was stolen by an unknown suspect with Aoci still inside. The vehicle was located approximately 14 minutes later with no occupants.

There were multiple vehicles stolen overnight in the City and the following is a list of vehicles that have not been located:

• White Dodge Dart - IL Plate “EG92693”
• Tan Chevrolet Malibu – IA Plate “MMU635”
• Gray Nissan Rogue – VA Plate “UEV4867”
• Black Kia Sportage – IA Plate “OIZ261”

Aoci was last seen wearing a light pink coat. The coat has a glittery butterfly on the front with a zipper down the middle of the butterfly. She also had a pink backpack. Attached is a picture of a similar-looking backpack.

The incident remains under investigation by the Rock Island Police Department’s
Criminal Investigation Division; no further information is available at this time. Anyone
with information related to this case is asked to contact the Rock Island Police
Department at (309) 732-2677 or Crime Stoppers at (309) 762-9500 or using the P3
Tips app.

AMBER Alert Issued For Missing Illinois Girl

Police in Illinois have issued an AMBER Alert Thursday morning for a missing 4-year-old girl. It is the only active AMBER Alert in the U.S. and the police need all of the help they can get to locate this child.

At the request of the Rock Island Police Department, the Illinois Amber Alert Notification System has been activated as they search for 4-year-old Blessing Aoci.

The Rock Island Police say that at approximately 6:07 a.m. Thursday morning, a vehicle was stolen from the 1300 block of 14th 1/2 ST while it was left running with Aoci in a car seat in the back seat. The vehicle was located at approximately 6:24 a.m. in the area of 8th ST and 15th Avenue.

However, Aoci was not in the vehicle. At this time, the location of the child is unknown.

Rock Island police say that all available resources are being dedicated to finding her, including assistance from surrounding agencies, door-to-door canvassing, and searching utilizing drones from the Rock Island Police Department, Rock Island County Sheriff's Department, and Moline Police Department.

Blessing is a 4-year-old African American female, approximately 3 feet in height, 50 lbs, and was last seen wearing a pink jacket, pink boots, and blue pants.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Blessing or her disappearance, call 9-1-1 or contact the Rock Island police at 309-732-2677. RIPD says updates will be released as more information becomes available.