Dear John,

Friend, 

My daughter Maia disappeared when she was three years old.

For 23 long months I searched for her—and with the help of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)—I found her last year when she had just turned five years old.

Maia’s mother and I had joint custody of her, but one day she didn’t show for our scheduled exchange and she disappeared with Maia. About a month later, her mother was charged with felony kidnapping, but Maia still wasn’t home. I reached out to NCMEC for help, and they were awesome.

NCMEC soon had Maia’s story on national television and her photo had over 100,000 views on social media.

My daughter was recovered after 23 months from Paraguay in South America—where “people go to disappear.”

Thanks to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, my daughter did not disappear.

Seeing her for the first time was the most emotional moment of my life. I can’t explain that moment—it was a miracle. Today, she’s taking karate and just started kindergarten. She’s a happy, happy kid.

—Tilo Alexander

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization. NCMEC works with families, victims, private industry, law enforcement, and the public to assist with preventing child abductions, recovering missing children, and providing services to deter and combat child sexual exploitation.