A military family who used to live near Camp Pendleton is looking for their missing child who was taken more than 40 years ago. The FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said they would be looking for Kevin Art Verville Jr. again. This weekend, he will turn 45 years old.
Kevin Verville was only 17 days old when he was taken from Camp Pendleton military housing in July 1980. His family has been wondering what happened to him for 45 years.
“I never got to meet my brother,” said Kevin’s younger sister Angelica Ramsey, who was born five years after her brother was taken. “I’ll miss being a little sister.” I turned out to be the big sister.
The FBI and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children announced new attempts to solve the case on Tuesday. They also shared a picture of Kevin increasing in age to show what he might look like now. They also put out a video of the theft being acted out.
Officials say a woman who said she was a social worker and offered services for young, low-income military families tricked Kevin’s parents. The woman’s name was Sheila, and the parents of the baby decided to let her help them.
Angelina, Kevin’s mother, and she got in Sheila’s car when she told them they had to pick up another mom. Angelina was told to go knock on the door and get the other mom. When she did, Sheila ran off quickly with the baby in her arms.
Kevin Verville Sr., 66, said, “We didn’t come from cities like this, so we put too much trust in people at the time.” He hopes his son is still out there.
“It changed our lives, it changed the way we think, it changed the way we talk, it changed the way we do everything,” Verville said.
A picture from the original investigation shows Sheila. Police think she stole the baby to raise as her own.
There is still life in Kevin’s mother, but she is having health issues. They want to find and talk to their son again before it’s too late, says his sister.
“I think it would be devastating if either of them passed before we found him,” he said.
‘Sheila’ was described as having red or fuzzy blonde hair and a tattoo on her left hand, between her thumb and middle finger. It was said to look like a circle with a “X” in the middle. “Sheila” also looked like she was pregnant.
The police say that no tip about Kevin Jr. is too small and that he could be anywhere.
Call 1-800-THE-LOST or 1-800-225-5324 to talk to the FBI or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about the case. You can also go to tips.fbi.gov.
