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North Carolina girl was waiting to go to school when man took her and SUV, say 911 callers

Posted at 11:14 AM, Nov 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-07 22:37:06-05

With a frantic woman sobbing at one point in the background, worried neighbors of a 13-year-old North Carolina girl called 911 Monday morning to report the child had been taken by a man who stole an SUV.

Investigators in the case released the 911 call Wednesday and put out photos of the vehicle gleaned from surveillance video.

The stolen SUV is believed to have been used in the abduction of Hania Noelia Aguilar from outside her home in Lumberton, authorities said.

The emergency call was made by a neighbor after a relative ran over to get help, authorities said.

A Spanish-speaking woman and man told the 911 operator that the driver of the green Ford Expedition had turned on the SUV engine in preparation for taking children to school. A man then stole the SUV with a child inside, the callers said, according to a translator.

The FBI, which is investigating the case along with the Lumberton police department, had a slightly different description of the events after talking to people at the mobile home park.

“A witness saw a male subject dressed in all black and wearing a yellow bandana force Hania into a relative’s vehicle that was parked in the driveway,” the FBI said.

The witnesses were unable to say in what direction the suspect headed.

The vehicle was caught on video minutes after the girl was taken.

Lumberton police and the FBI are asking local residents with video surveillance systems to save the recordings, even if they don’t see the vehicle in the footage, and contact them.

According to the FBI, Hania is Hispanic, about 5 feet tall and 126 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt with flowers.

The SUV is a 2002/2003 Expedition with South Carolina license plate NWS-984, Lumberton police said. Paint on the hood of the SUV is peeling, and a Clemson University sticker is on the rear window.

Authorities said Wednesday afternoon that they have no reason to think Hania knew her abductor and that the girl’s family is cooperating with the investigation.

The FBI is offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to the girl.

Lumberton is in southeastern North Carolina near Interstate 95 and is about 95 miles from Raleigh.