VALRICO, Fla. — Nearly 28 years after a baby vanished from her crib in Hillsborough County, investigators and family members are continuing their search with a new image that they hope will generate fresh leads.
Sabrina Aisenberg was just 5 months old when she disappeared from her family’s Valrico home in 1997. This week, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a new age progression photo showing what Sabrina may look like today as an adult.
The image is one of the latest efforts to keep the case in the public eye and spark recognition, either from someone who may know Sabrina or from Sabrina herself.
“We woke up, and she was gone. She was taken out of her room. She wasn't in our house. She hadn’t started to walk. Someone came in and took the most precious thing that could have been taken,” Steven Aisenberg said.
Sabrina vanished from her crib in the middle of the night, a case that quickly drew national attention and has remained unsolved for nearly three decades. Despite the years that have passed, her family says they have never stopped hoping for answers.
That hope is why the new age progression image matters.
Tampa Bay 28 spoke to Christi Andrews, the forensic artist who created this image. She explained that the goal is not perfection, but recognition.
As long as it’s going to spark some recognition in someone that knows the child enough to say ‘I think I know this person or this reminds me of so and so’. And they say something. That is the most important part,” said Andrews.
Andrews said that the process involves studying family photographs, identifying shared features, and using digital tools to create a realistic representation of what the missing child may look like years later.
The release of the image comes just ahead of what would be Sabrina’s 29th birthday. Her family says they think about her every day and continue to pray that one day she will come home.
“Every day we think about her. We pray everyday that she comes home and we’ll continue to put out messages so she can come home and be part of our family again,” said Steven Aisenberg.
If you recognize her in the photo or have any information, call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 813-247-8000.
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