On September 17th, 2018, around 3:30 P.M., the Aurora Police Department was notified of a missing juvenile. Officers arrived in the 1900 block of North Elmira Street and began to gather information about a 10-year-old, Daniela Ruano-Morales, who had run away. Daniela is a Hispanic female, 4'10" tall, 65 lbs., and has brown hair and brown eyes. Daniela was last seen by her mother around 10:00 A.M. that morning.
Due to the age of Daniela, and the duration in which she had been missing, the Aurora Police Department reached out to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI). After consultation, they decided to issue an Endangered Missing Alert. Because there was no information that Daniela had been abducted, this incident did not meet the requirements to issue an Amber Alert.
Aurora Police Officers worked throughout the night knocking on doors and checking the area for Daniela but were not able to locate her.
We reached out to our neighboring agencies and received help from the following agencies: K-9 Jessie and Deputy K. Foster from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, K-9 Dax and Ranger J. Heibert from Boulder County Parks and Open Space, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team, the FBI Denver Field Office, Aurora Fire Rescue and the Denver Police Department. Many others came to assist and were instrumental in our efforts.
Multiple Federal Agents, Officers, and Detectives began to canvas the area where Daniela was last known to be, where they conducted interviews, and gathered information.
Around 12:10 P.M., Officers were notified that Daniela had been found in the Hoffman Heights Neighborhood near East 6th Avenue and North Peoria Street. Daniela was found in the area by a distant relative. Officers responded and were able to locate Daniela safe.
This is still an active and open investigation. Officers are still trying to determine how Daniela got to the Hoffman Heights area. We do not believe that there is any danger to the community at this time.
Finally, we thank the thousands of members of our public who provided tips and information on the whereabouts of Daniela. Our partnership with our community is instrumental in investigating cases such as these.
Officer Matt Wells-Longshore
Public Information Officer
Aurora Police Department
(720) 432-5095