20 years later: Police still seek answers on missing New Jersey toddler
ELIZABETH, New Jersey (WABC) -- It's been 20 years since a toddler went missing from New Jersey, but investigators aren't giving up.
Kevin Barthrop was last seen near his home on Chilton Street in Elizabeth on June 12, 1999. He was only 2 years old at the time -- but authorities have no idea if he is even dead or alive.
Officials received an anonymous tip about his disappearance, and it was only then, 13 years later, that his mother reported him missing.
Prosecutors say no one, including his own mother, will say if he died or where. They will only say that by the time they got a tip seven years ago, Barthrop had already been gone for more than a decade.
In the fog of all that passed time, there were so many unanswered questions: Who is responsible for his disappearance? What happened to him? When did he disappear? And why did his mother not report it to police for 13 years?
The county prosecutor said he couldn't answer any of those questions or go into detail about the investigation.
On Monday, New Jersey State Police released a sketch of what Barthrop might look like today. The image has been shared by local county and federal authorities across the country.
Police say people believed to have information about him are known to be living in Essex and Union counties and in North Carolina.
No one was ever charged in connection with his disappearance, but prosecutors hope that someone who knows something will finally stand up for a boy long forgotten.
There is a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Kevin Sabir Barthrop is being urged to contact Prosecutor's Office Sgt. Michael Manochio at 908-966-2287 or Sgt. Janet Lopez at 908-347-8491.
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