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'We Have Not Forgotten,' Family Of Missing Texas Girl Speaks Out On Her Birthday
Riaz Sardar Khil asked a crowd to pray for his four-year-old daughter, Lina Sardar Khil, who vanished from a playground at the family's apartment complex in December.
The family of a missing Texas girl has spoken out on her fourth birthday as the reward offered for her return continues to rise.
"Today is to remember and pray for Lina," Lina Sardar Khil’s father Riaz Sardar Khil told a crowd of more than 50 people on Sunday, the San Antonio Express-News reports." We have not forgotten her. Today is to (remind) law enforcement officers that now is two months, and we don't have Lina with us."
Lina Sardar Khil vanished on Dec. 20 while on the playground of the apartment complex in north San Antonio, Texas, where her family — who immigrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2019 — lives.
The reward for information leading to the girl’s safe discovery has recently risen to a total of $250,000, TV station KSAT12 reports. Much of the money offered comes from The Islamic Center of San Antonio. The reward has been steadily increasing since the little girl vanished; it was at $170,000 just days ago.
"It is a lot of money that could get Lina back but what I think is, we don't need money," Riaz said on Sunday, according to the Express-News. "Just please feel our pain and give back Lina. Please pray for Lina."
At Sunday's event, attendees prayed and shared songs in honor of Lina.
The FBI joined the San Antonio Police in early January in trying to find Khil. They deployed a dive team to look for the child in an area located not far from the family's apartment complex, the San Antonio Police announced in January. However, there have been no signs of the missing girl.
In late January, the San Antonio Police Department reassured the public that their investigation for the child "has not stopped."
"We will continue to diligently comb through leads in hopes of locating Lina and reuniting her with her family," they stated. They noted that they recently made a decision to suspend an Amber Alert for Khil, but clarified that her disappearance is still an "active investigation."
Khil has brown hair and brown eyes and was wearing a black jacket, red dress and black shoes when she disappeared. Her mother had stepped away for a minute and, when she returned, Lina was gone. However, the toddler had never been completely alone, as other children were on the playground when she vanished. Her parents are cooperating with the investigation.
Anyone with information is urged to call the San Antonio Police Department Missing Persons’ Unit at 210-207-7660.
