Pawtucket Police find missing 7-year-old girl from Virginia

The little girl and her mother had been reported missing in 2019.

Pawtucket, RI (WLNE) – Pawtucket Police announced they found a 7-year-old girl, who had been missing from Virginia since 2019.

The police department said the staff at the Pawtucket Public Library called police on November 5 about a woman who concerned them. Library staff had become worried about a mother and daughter they had seen on a couple of occasions.

Police said they did an internet search and found a Facebook post from 2019 about a missing mother and daughter out of Florida.

Detective Ethan Barrett determined the child was actually missing out of Virginia, while the mother had a warrant out of Florida for interfering with custody/abduction by a non-custodial parent.

Pawtucket Police located the mother and child in Fogarty Manor in Pawtucket. The mother, 48-year-old Jessica Van Daam of Stuart, Florida, was arrested. She is being held as a fugitive and will eventually be extradited to Florida.

The little girl is currently in the custody of the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).