United States: disappeared at age 14 and returned home 20 years later, with another identity, with children and speaking Spanish

For nearly 21 years, Cynthia Haag refused to leave her home in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. He stayed at home in the hope that his daughter, who disappeared without trace at 14, will come back one day. When that day arrived, Cynthia could barely recognize the woman in front of her. His daughter had returned, but it was completely changed.

Crystal Haag was the name of the missing girl, but in her 20-year absence, she had changed her identity to become Crystal Saunders. Moreover, outside of Baltimore, the girl had become a mother, had learned to speak Spanish proficiently and had changed the year of her birth.

The return of the missing woman – now a woman – was both a happy ending and a new beginning for a story that began with a painful family secret.

Crystal had disappeared from her house on April 26, 1997. That day, her mother had gone to work as usual at a local food store. Before leaving, she had told her daughter, "Stay close to your house today," and the young woman promised to listen to her.

But when Cynthia returned home at night, the little girl was gone.

More than 20 years later and after her daughter's return, Cyntia was able to discover the traumatic secret that led Crystal to flee her home. The reality was that a small neighbor had abused her and she was doing it from the age of 9 until she left.

At that time, the young woman also believed that her mother was aware of the abuse – the fact that Cynthia flatly denied it – and had found no alternative but to escape, as she had confessed during an interview with Crystal.
Washington Post.

Finally, that day, late April 1997, the girl went out with friends until midnight, then secretly took a bus to New York. That's how it evaporated from Baltimore.

New identity

Crystal arrived in New York and settled in the Bronx. There, she changed her year of birth and she went from the age of 14 to the age of 23. She changed her identity: she was now Crystal Saunders. To make a living, the new girl started cleaning houses in the neighborhood.

She soon became pregnant with her first child and obtained her first driver's license and a health card with her new personal information. The young woman would become mother three times more. In total, he had four children and became a member of the Dominican community of the city, which became his new family. There, he also learned to speak Spanish fluently.

On the day of her 31st birthday, Crystal published on Instagram a photo with a cake and a caption: "Happy 40 years for me".

But the more Crystal got into his new life, the more his mother was trapped in the past. Desperate, she searched for the face of his daughter in every young man with brown hair that ran in the street. He had stopped celebrating Christmas and had refused to leave the house.

In 2010, the Baltimore police eventually declared that all the missing girl's search efforts had been exhausted.

Reunion

One day in March 2018, Cynthia received the call from her eldest daughter, Bianca. She had already received a message from Crystal on Facebook.

The same night, Bianca went to New York to recover her missing sister. A few hours later, Crystal and Cynthia found themselves face to face after two decades of distance.

"You're still my little girl," Cynthia said to her daughter, giving her a big hug.

"It's like finding a totally new person," confessed young Crystal's mother, "She's gone like a girl, but she's back to adulthood, but I just want to see her again." to love as she is. "

Crystal had the opportunity to tell her mother the painful motive of her departure – the aggression of her neighbor – and also told her mother that she thought she was aware of what was going on . Cynthia was shocked by the news and badured her that she had no idea of ​​the existence of such a situation.

Today, Crystal lives with an uncle in a neighborhood near his mother's house and visits him on the occasion. Meanwhile, Cynthia believes it is time to leave the house where she has been waiting for more than 20 years for the return of her missing granddaughter.