Background
I couldn't find too much information on Monique, sadly. She was born in New York City on September 11, 1978 to Annie Graniela (sometimes referred to as Anna Castro). I could not find any information on her birth father. Monique had black hair and brown eyes and as she grew older, gaps between her teeth, most prominently between her two front teeth.
In the late 1980s, Annie and Monique moved to Albany, New York after a murder occurred in front of their home that frightened Annie enough to leave NYC completely. They moved into an apartment on Washington Avenue. I don't know Albany at all, but I looked it up on Google Maps and seems to be a fairly decent residential area on a busy street, which may have played a crucial part in Monique's disappearance. Annie got married, although I wasn't able to find out when exactly or her husband's name. He his only referred to as Monique's stepfather. The family seemed to lead a normal life until March 1990, when Monique's stepfather was imprisoned. Shortly thereafter, Monique disappeared.
Disappearance
It was a typical day when Monique awoke on March 29, 1990 for school. She dressed herself in a turquoise top, blue jeans, and black shoes. Nothing out of the ordinary. With Monique's stepfather in prison, it was just Monique and Annie at home. Annie presumably left sometime before Monique did.
At 12pm, Annie received a call from Monique. She told her mother that she had missed the school bus that morning and stayed home for the day. That was the last time Annie ever spoke to her daughter. At eleven years old, Annie believed Monique could take care of herself until she returned home from work. But by the time Annie returned home, Monique was gone. It would be a full eight hours before Annie contacted law enforcement, believing that a certain number of hours had to pass by before police would become involved. It is unknown if Annie conducted her own search in the eight hours, but I am going to assume she did, calling any friends of Monique's who might have heard or seen her or where she might be staying. As you can imagine, eight hours is a long time when dealing with the disappearance of a child and as such, very few leads ever came about.
Investigation
There were some interesting developments in Monique's disappearance although none came of any merit.
The first development came in the form of an adult male (identity unknown), who admitted to police that he had driven Monique to the SUNY Albany campus five days before her disappearance. He admitted to police he did not have permission from Monique's mother to bring her anywhere and most likely never even met Annie before. He said that he saw Monique standing in a parking lot on Central Avenue and felt sorry for her, so he offered her a ride and took her to the SUNY Albany campus, where he bought her snacks and allegedly admitted to secretly masturbating while she stood on line. Although this man was questioned by police and signed a statement, he was never charged with Monique's disappearance. Police, however, believe he was in some manner involved. The POI maintains his innocence.
A suspected child serial killer Lewis Lent Jr. was investigated. He was convicted of murdering a girl in Massachusetts by the name of Sara Wood (her body has never been found) and is suspected in the disappearances of other children. Although Monique does not fit the profile of children Lent is convicted and suspected of killing, investigators have not ruled him out.
Theories
There are various theories in Monique's disappearance, but many have been ruled out. Police looked into the theory that the murder in front of Monique and Annie's NYC home was somehow tied into her disappearance but this was never proven.
Another theory tied Monique's disappearance to her stepfather's imprisonment. Police theorized that perhaps her stepfather angered someone in prison and this person was somehow involved in Monique's disappearance but nothing came of this either.
On July 22, 1990, the body of a woman between the ages of 15 and 22 was found in Clarion County, Pennsylvania. She was found with two pennies in the pockets of her jeans, thus receiving the name Penny Doe. It was theorized that although Penny Doe was said to be older than Monique was, Penny Doe could, in fact, be younger. Penny Doe was also thought to have died between 4-8 weeks prior to her discovery, which would put her death around the time of Monique's disappearance. But the other information known about Penny Doe, like her height and weight and clothing she was found with, do not match Monique's.
Conclusion
As of January 1, 2018, Monique Santiago is still missing. She was eleven years old at the time of her disappearance and was 4'11 and weighed about 90 pounds. She has a birthmark on the back of her right leg. Unfortunately, Annie's mother and stepfather passed away from complications of AIDS, never knowing what happened to Monique. As stated, there isn't much to go with in Monique's case, but the information available is pretty compelling and leads me to believe the man who drove Monique to the SUNY Albany campus is involved.
I can't help but think that Monique had no plans to go to school that day and met up with that man. Although Monique did call her mother, it is unknown from where Monique called her mother, so she may not have even been home when she made the call. Monique may have told the POI where she lived and about her stepfather being in prison, giving him a way in to grooming her by being a "father figure." It's a very sad case and unfortunately, I don't think it will be officially solved.
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