NY NY - Equilla Lynn Hodrick, 8, Bronx, 12 Aug 1985

SheWhoMustNotBeNamed

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Missing Since: August 12, 1985 from New York City, New York
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: August 19, 1976
Age: 8 years old
Height and Weight: 4'11, 80 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Hodrick had a gap between her upper front teeth at the time of her 1985 disappearance. She has a scar near her right eye and a scar on her right cheek, and discolorations on her buttocks and back. Hodrick's ears are pierced. She wears eyeglasses.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: Cut-off blue jeans, a white tank top with yellow and red marks, and light blue sneakers.

Details of Disappearance

Hodrick and her mother were sitting on the front porch of their Briggs Avenue residence in the New York City borough of the Bronx on August 12, 1985. Her mother turned to talk to friends at approximately 6:30 p.m. that evening and saw Hodrick running to the corner of Briggs Avenue and 194th Street towards a parked Mr. Softee ice cream truck. Her mother was eight months pregnant at the time and unable to chase Hodrick, but the child always returned quickly. Hodrick's cousin told her mother that she saw Hodrick playing video games in an arcade on the corner later in the evening. Her mother became concerned when Hodrick did not return home and summoned authorities. Hodrick was never seen again.

An extensive search was launched for the child. Bloodhounds picked up Hodrick's scent and led detectives to Webster Avenue in the Bronx, near the tracks of the Metro-North train line. No sign of Hodrick was located. The detective who was originally in charge of her case retired in the late 1990's, but said Hodrick was street-smart and knew her own phone number. Her case has recently been reopened by a cold cases squad in the New York City Police Department.

Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
New York City Police Department

646-610-6914
 
Bump. I just read about her case at reddit. What a beautiful girl!
 
A beautiful little girl goes missing on ahot summer day in the middle of Bronx and she's never found again. Her mother was even close by when she ran to a ice cream truck in the middle of the day to never come back.

While the dissapearence of Ethan Patz that came form a middle class family spawned alot of media interest this african-american girl from the Bronx was shortly forgotten.

She dissapeared at Briggs Avenue and According to police, blood hounds traced her scent to WEBSTER AVENUE, close to the Metro North tracks,but after that there was no more trace of her.

She was a street smart kid, she knew her own phone number and she wouldn't go with strangers.

1. Is it possible someone just grabbed her in the middle of the day and took her into a car? would her scent be tracked by hounds if she was in a car? I guess not.

2. Someone that she knew and trusted walked away with her, a relative, neighbour, someone from school etc. From Briggs Ave to Webster Ave it's close. It would take 5-10 minutes. Either the person that took her lived there or had his car there, in order for Equilla to follow this person she must've known and trusted him and no one around suspected anything when they walked. I believe the perpetration is right there and have been all along. Turn every stone and you find answers.
 
A beautiful little girl goes missing on ahot summer day in the middle of Bronx and she's never found again. Her mother was even close by when she ran to a ice cream truck in the middle of the day to never come back.

While the dissapearence of Ethan Patz that came form a middle class family spawned alot of media interest this african-american girl from the Bronx was shortly forgotten.

She dissapeared at Briggs Avenue and According to police, blood hounds traced her scent to WEBSTER AVENUE, close to the Metro North tracks,but after that there was no more trace of her.

She was a street smart kid, she knew her own phone number and she wouldn't go with strangers.

1. Is it possible someone just grabbed her in the middle of the day and took her into a car? would her scent be tracked by hounds if she was in a car? I guess not.

2. Someone that she knew and trusted walked away with her, a relative, neighbour, someone from school etc. From Briggs Ave to Webster Ave it's close. It would take 5-10 minutes. Either the person that took her lived there or had his car there, in order for Equilla to follow this person she must've known and trusted him and no one around suspected anything when they walked. I believe the perpetration is right there and have been all along. Turn every stone and you find answers.

Such a sad, forgotten case. This youngster disappeared one week before her 9th birthday. It makes me wonder if someone offered her an early birthday present? Or maybe a quick ride to get an ice cream? Something/someone, took her guard down.

Equilla turned 41 on the 19th of August. It sure would be fantastic, to bring her home.
 
I just saw that charleyproject added a new photo of her so I guess the case is alive somehow with out much progress.

I wonder if they ever asked the ice truck man. There is so little info here so little to discuss unfortunately. If the ice truck man saw her it makes a huge difference. She ran to the ice truck but she hadno money, or did she? did someone give her an ice cream or perhaps took her somewhere else for an ice cream? or did the ice truck man take her? I wish the police after almost 35 years could give out some more info. Did they have any witnesses or suspects? who was question? my gut tells me since she was street smart someone that she knew took her. Unless the ice truck man did ofcourse.
 
Now this is strange, Equilla Lynn Hodrick age 8 from bronx missing August 12, 1985 and Jeremiah George Huger age 4 from Bronx went missing June 25, 1985 both are light skinned blacks.

According to charleyproject Jeremiah went missing on Lafontaine Avenue, outside of his house.

Google Maps

And Equilla on Briggs Avenue

Google Maps

As you can see they are not that far away from each other

"An unidentified African-American male called to Jeremiah from the street; when Jeremiah approached him, the suspect grabbed him and disappeared. Neither of them have never been seen again"

"Police believe he may have been sold after his abduction, but Jeremiah's mother believes he was taken by an abusive, jealous former boyfriend of hers who had previously threatened to abduct the child."

So, there are witnesses that saw him getting abducted. I wonder if there is a drawing of the suspect somewhere? If it was that ex boyfriend that did it where was he at the time? did he have an alibi? did they check for registred sex offenders in the area? If the boyfriend didn't to it out of revenge perhaps its no coincidence that both kids went missing at close range within 2 months in 1985. I don't believe in coincidences.
 
So they may look close on the map they’re not that close to each other those two addresses however I lived on appeal is blocked at the time of the disappearance and there was a sex offender living on the same street who was targeting children in that age group. I’m not sure if anyone ever investigated that matter as for the ice cream truck I was told that they never found the driver because the Mr. softies trucks or privately owned and they have no way of knowing who was in the neighborhood at the time I agree that if they picked up the sent all the way to Metro North that she must have been on foot and not in a car however we don’t know with Home and the sightings at the video store seem unlikely it’s possible that whoever took her got her onto a train to get her far away quickly perhaps there was some pre-planning it is still hey mysterious case in that a street smart girl would follow anyone that she didn’t know someone of this neighborhood must know something there is a video on YouTube of the Bronx in this time. Shortly before her disappearance you can even see her home and many of the neighborhood people but as far as I know she was not in the documentary I could be wrong

This story has haunted me all my life as I was the same age living approximately 10 houses away from the girl who disappeared


QUOTE="Moonwalker9, post: 14602702, member: 185708"]Now this is strange, Equilla Lynn Hodrick age 8 from bronx missing August 12, 1985 and Jeremiah George Huger age 4 from Bronx went missing June 25, 1985 both are light skinned blacks.

According to charleyproject Jeremiah went missing on Lafontaine Avenue, outside of his house.

Google Maps

And Equilla on Briggs Avenue

Google Maps

As you can see they are not that far away from each other

"An unidentified African-American male called to Jeremiah from the street; when Jeremiah approached him, the suspect grabbed him and disappeared. Neither of them have never been seen again"

"Police believe he may have been sold after his abduction, but Jeremiah's mother believes he was taken by an abusive, jealous former boyfriend of hers who had previously threatened to abduct the child."

So, there are witnesses that saw him getting abducted. I wonder if there is a drawing of the suspect somewhere? If it was that ex boyfriend that did it where was he at the time? did he have an alibi? did they check for registred sex offenders in the area? If the boyfriend didn't to it out of revenge perhaps its no coincidence that both kids went missing at close range within 2 months in 1985. I don't believe in coincidences.[/QUOTE]
 
Welcome to this forum Sam!
Amazing to find somenpdy here that actually grew up in Bronx in the 80's and recall Equilla,

Here's some old photos of bronx Briggs aveneue from the 80's, you probably recall.
Search Results: All Fields similar to 'Briggs and Avenue' - NYC Municipal Archives

Some of East 197th street, scroll down

Search Results: All Fields similar to '197' - NYC Municipal Archives

1. Do you remember the name of that sex offender, and what happened to him. Was he ever investigated? I never heard anything about that before and I've tried to find allpossible info on the net from her case. If he lived close by perhaps she didn't see him as a stranger, and she volunteerly went with him.

2. Mr. softies, didn't even know the name of the company that run them! Well they could've told them to ask the driver who worked there at the time. Even if the driver wasn't a suspect he could have valuable information. I feel like they didn't do enough.

3. I would like to know the name of that documentary, if it's on youtube I will watch it.

Do you rememberanything else about Equillas family, the neighboourhood or what was said around that time she dissapeared? you just gave us more info then I could find online so any little detail is welcome even if may seem irrelevant.
 
So I didn’t know equilla personally. All the kids played on the block together however. The sex offender not sure anyone investigated him. It was the same year but not sure about the chronology. Like what month exactly that happened. His first name was Johnny. Don’t know the last name.

Definitely Mr Softee. Was the only truck that came around. I don’t remember much at all of people saying things about her disappearance. Just moms started to take turns watching us play in the street after that. Before we played and walked to the store with no worries.

If you watch the documentary you will see the arcade, her house, the street she ran down which was toward the bad drug infested end of the block.

Here is the link to one of the parts. It’s 5 parts.

Did you know her or are you a relation?

Regards
 
I wonder of the pizza guy remembers anything. He was at that end of the block.
 
Thanks for sharing. A good time document for sure,

No, I didn't know her but he case has interested me. She deserves justice.

I've tried to find most things about her from the net but it aint much which is the sad thing. Think her mom Terona Clark still lives in NY.

Would love to read these police reports one day, maybe this Johnny is in the report. At thispoint the NYDP got little to lose for relesing more details to the public. Equilla is one of just a dozen kids still missing in NY it would help if the case got some more publicity.
 
The documentary definitely shows you that the end of the block where she ran toward was unsafe. Many unsavory types lurking about.
 
Thanks for sharing. A good time document for sure,

No, I didn't know her but he case has interested me. She deserves justice.

I've tried to find most things about her from the net but it aint much which is the sad thing. Think her mom Terona Clark still lives in NY.

Would love to read these police reports one day, maybe this Johnny is in the report. At thispoint the NYDP got little to lose for relesing more details to the public. Equilla is one of just a dozen kids still missing in NY it would help if the case got some more publicity.
Yep, the case gets some scrutiny every few years. I’m happy that her case wasn’t initially treated as a runaway as it seems they always believed she had been abducted
 
What are the chances? The descriptions are similar, despite the time lapse, and the photos resemble one another. IMO I know, it’s a long shot...

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

View attachment 238544 View attachment 238545

Anything is possible, but the "Avon 'Libra' horoscope bracelet" sticks out to me. Since Equilla was born on August 19, she would've been a Leo—assuming she even knew about astrology at age 8 and was into it.
 

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