Ava Gonzales: Austin police arrest mother of missing child; search continues for girl

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin police are searching for a missing girl who was last seen in 2017. 

The girl's mother was recently arrested in connection to an unrelated incident.

Who is Ava Gonzales?

The backstory:

The Austin Police Department is looking for 9-year-old Ava Marie Gonzales.

Police say Ava was never reported missing by her mother, who gave conflicting information to family members. None of her children were enrolled in school.

Ava was last seen by family and friends in December 2017 in the custody of her mother, Virginia Gonzales.

Virginia Gonzales was recently arrested on April 24 for serious injury to a child.

APD says it is seriously concerned about Ava's welfare due to the circumstances in which Ava's younger sibling was found on April 3.

Ava is described as a Hispanic girl with straight brown hair and brown eyes.

Virginia Gonzales' arrest

Dig deeper:

Virginia was arrested following an incident on April 3 that resulted in the hospitalization of a 7-year-old.

33-year-old Virginia is alleged to have committed injury to her child, who was found malnourished, soiled and barricaded in a bedroom closet in a home in the 5500 block of Ross Road. 

According to an affidavit by an investigator with the Austin PD Child Abuse Unit, Virginia barricaded her child in the closet for a month and fed her one corn dog and a 1/2 cup of water a day.

The affidavit also stated the oldest children were ordered to put the victim in the closet because she had issues controlling her bladder and was trying to eat things she wasn't supposed to. 

When she was found and taken to the Dell Children’s Medical Center, she weighed 29 pounds. Six other children in the home appeared to be fine.

Following an investigation, the APD Child Abuse Unit obtained a warrant in the City of Austin Municipal Court and requested immediate assistance from the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force-Austin Division to locate and apprehend Virginia.

Members of the task force initiated a fugitive investigation and surrounded and arrested Virgnia at the intersection of Cambourne Drive and Harris Ridge Boulevard following a 15-day investigation into her whereabouts.

Virginia was transported to the APD Child Abuse Unit and booked into the Travis County Jail where she will await judicial proceedings.  

Attorney speaks out

Local perspective:

Michele Locke is a family law attorney unaffiliated with the case. 

"How does every checkpoint we have, every system we have in place, let this happen? That was the shock. Then another part of it to me was, while I hope this child is alive, I think we are likely looking for a body, unfortunately," she said.

She says for community members, speak up if you think something is suspicious.

"There were most likely people that came into contact with these children that thought something was wrong and didn't report anything. I would err on the side of reporting because you never know if you're going to save someone's life," she said.

"If you have any information, please come forward. We are not trying to get anyone in trouble. We're trying to ensure everyone's safety," Det. Russell Constable with the Austin Police Department said.

The Department of Family and Protective Services says cases are confidential so they can't provide many details. DFPS is investigating alongside the police, and seven children have been removed from the family and placed in foster care.

What you can do:

Anyone with information regarding Ava’s whereabouts is asked to email: ava@austintexas.gov or provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers by calling: 512-572-8477.

Crime and Public SafetyAustinMissing in Texas