Christopher Abeyta: Missing from His Crib Since 1986

His mother spent 31 years searching before she died still saying "I need my baby." His father followed her in 2020. Nearly 40 years later, the search continues without them.

Christopher Abeyta, 7 months old, disappeared from his crib in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on July 15, 1986. Nearly four decades later, he has never been found, and his case remains one of the longest-running unsolved infant disappearances in the country.

Taken From His Crib

Christopher, the youngest of Gil and Bernice Abeyta's seven children, was last seen in his crib around 12:30 a.m. at the family's home on Ashwood Circle in Colorado Springs. When his family woke that morning, he was gone. Police were notified around 6:30 a.m. His family later reported receiving unexplained hang-up phone calls in the months leading up to his disappearance, which stopped the day before he vanished and resumed months later.

A Named Person of Interest

Investigators and the family have long focused attention on a woman named Emma Bradshaw, who had a documented history of stalking behavior toward an unrelated man years earlier and had spent time in Colorado mental health facilities in the 1970s and 1980s. A Colorado Springs detective testified in 2015 that she remained a person of interest in the case; she has consistently denied any involvement, and police have never formally named her a suspect or filed charges against her. In 2015, Bradshaw won a defamation-related lawsuit against Christopher's sister, Denise, over public statements connecting her to the case, receiving $150,000 in damages, though the jury specifically found her Facebook posts on the matter weren't themselves defamatory.

Evidence Lost

At some point after the investigation began, the Colorado Springs Police Department destroyed most of the physical evidence collected in the case — a decision Christopher's family has criticized as a significant failure that permanently limited what modern forensic techniques might otherwise have been able to determine.

DNA Leads That Didn't Match

Over the years, several people who believed they might be Christopher came forward. In 2018, Colorado authorities collected DNA samples from three separate individuals and sent them for testing; in February 2019, all three were ruled out as matches.

Parents Who Never Stopped Searching

Bernice Abeyta spent 31 years searching for her son before dying of cancer in 2017, having made a final public plea for information the year before her death. Christopher's father, Gil, died of a heart attack in 2020, having offered a $100,000 reward for information in 2013 and continuing to advocate for the case until his death.

A Renewed Push

In September 2025, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an updated age-progression image depicting what Christopher might look like at 39. Christopher's sister, Denise Alves, said the family had also uncovered new information about the night he disappeared that they believe could meaningfully advance the investigation, and has publicly asked Colorado's governor to have the Colorado Bureau of Investigation take over the case entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has Christopher Abeyta ever been found?
No. Despite an ongoing investigation and multiple DNA tests on people who believed they might be him, he has never been located.

Was anyone ever charged in his disappearance?
No. A woman named Emma Bradshaw has been named a person of interest by investigators but has never been charged, and she has consistently denied any involvement.

Is there still a reward for information?
Yes, the Abeyta family has offered up to $100,000 for information leading to answers in the case.

Sources

Anyone with information is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at 719-444-7000, or Crime Stoppers at 719-634-7867.