05/06/2026
"P**o Cuts Girl Up in Bathtub and Cops Think He's Innocent
Jessica Christine Ridgeway was born on January 23rd, 2002. She loved music, art, books, and animals. She wore glasses with purple frames and carried a pink Victoria Justice backpack. Her favorite school subjects were math and phys ed, and she wanted to be a cheerleader when she got older. Jessica attended Witt Elementary School, where she was enrolled in the fifth grade.
Her teachers and classmates were both captivated by her charming and sweet personality. Her great aunt Gay Moore said about her, ""She's a giggler. She giggles a lot. That's all she ever does. She loves to try out jokes on the family, and she's actually got some pretty good ones. Jessica is the light of our life. She's a special girl."" >> Jessica's father, Jeremiah Bryant, lived in Missouri while she lived in Colorado with her mother, Sarah, and grandmother, Christine.
The former couple weren't on the best of terms. They spent the better part of their time separated in a legal battle over child custody. Jessica was an independent child. Her mother said that she wanted to be a teenager before she's a teenager. She's incredibly self-sufficient for her age. On school days, Jessica could wake up, eat a small breakfast, and get dressed on her own without assistance.
Her independence wasn't due to Sarah's absence because both mother and daughter were part of each other's morning routine. Sarah worked night shifts in the tech industry and slept in while Jessica was at school, but she always woke up early to make sure her daughter had her midday snack prepared and everything she needed packed for school.
Like many other kids in her neighborhood, Jessica walked to school every day, and she preferred to do this over taking the bus. She would meet one of her friends at a nearby park, and they would continue the rest of the way together. >> On October 5th, 2012, Jessica would do just that. It was snowing that morning, so she was bundled up in a warm black coat and boots with pom-poms.
She stopped to make a snowball before she crossed the street. Before she could resume her walk, Jessica was snatched off the street by a stranger. He grabbed her, pulled her into his Jeep, and bound her, and sped off. She screams, but there was no one around to hear. She was so scared she wet herself. The stranger told her that she would be all right, but they both knew that was a lie.
Jessica's school held out to contact Sarah until around 10:00 in the morning. Their call went to voicemail since Sarah was still asleep. They left a message saying that Jessica wasn't there and they wanted to make sure everything was okay. Sarah woke up later in the afternoon and listened to the voicemail. She knew something was terribly, terribly wrong.
She checked in with Jessica's friends, parents, and the school's front desk, and when she didn't get the answers she needed, she called 911. >> My daughter's missing. I guess she never made it to school this morning. >> How old is your daughter? >> She's 10. >> Okay. Is Is she with her father or anything like that? >> No, her father's in Missouri.
At least I hope he is. >> Okay, what's your daughter's name? >> Jessica Ridgeway. >> Okay. And what did you last see her? >> Um this morning when she left at 8:00 a.m. >> Did she walk? >> Yes. I checked with her friend's house that she walked with and they're not answering the door. >> Okay. You said she walks to school with friends? >> Yeah, um I don't know the exact address, but it's right down the street.
It's about two blocks away, I mean. >> Do you know if she made it to school? >> I don't know. I tried to go to the school and the office already closed. >> Has she ever done this before? >> No. >> Okay. And you're not You don't have any family that could have picked her up or anything like that? >> No, I checked with everybody that would have.
>> Okay, and she doesn't have a phone or anything like that? >> No. >> Okay. Does she have a bike? >> Um yeah, but she doesn't ride it to school. >> Is it Is it at the house? >> Yes. >> Okay. All right. Um And you said that the the school called so they weren't >> Right. And I was nice so I wasn't going to call. >> Okay.
And this has never happened before? >> No. >> Do you know what kind of pants are anything she was wearing? >> I think she was wearing jeans but I I know she changed and I forgot to look. >> Okay. Given name Christine? >> It's Sarah. >> Sarah. Okay. I've got some officers on the way over there to help you out, okay? >> Okay.
>> Um well, have you Well, have you looked? >> Looked Have I looked? >> Looked for her. Have you looked for her at all? >> I went I went up to the school and my sister's walking up to the school the same way that she walked um with her dog. So, and I went to her friend's house and kind of looked around where at the park that's down the street.
There's no kids there. >> After Sarah spoke with the police, an Amber Alert went out. Jessica's father Jeremiah got a call as he was about to leave work. He said, ""It was about time to get off work when I got that phone call. I told my boss I had to leave. I couldn't stay. I've been lost ever since."" >> Firefighters, the police, and volunteers searched parks, fields, and lakes for any sign of the missing 10-year-old.
Investigators went door-to-door to every residence in the area. They explained why they were there and what they were doing and collected hundreds of DNA samples from willing participants. One house they visited belonged to Mindy Sig, who had a 17-year-old son named Austin. One of their neighbors gave law enforcement a tip to look into the teenager, but Mindy didn't think much of it at the time.
To her, Austin would give a DNA sample and the investigators would be on their way. Austin Sig was born on January 17th, 1995. His parents divorced in 2001 and he had a younger brother. His father Robert was in and out of jail with charges ranging from bank fraud to burglary to family violence. Mindy largely raised her two sons alone and had a deep fear that one of them would be a victim of an abduction or murder.".............Full story in the comments 👇