Nearly 39 years after a seven-month-old boy vanished from his crib in Colorado Springs, his family said an age-progressed image released this week has renewed their hopes and renewed calls for a state-level review of the investigation.
Christopher Abeyta was last seen after being put to bed on July 15, 1986. The next morning he was gone and there were no signs of forced entry at the family's home, according to the family. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) released an image this month depicting what Christopher might look like as a clean-cut man with light brown hair and blue eyes.
Denise Alves, Christopher's sister who is leading the search since their parents' deaths, said the family believes the case was mishandled by local investigators and urged Governor Jared Polis to permit the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over. "This new age-progression is a powerful tool. We are grateful for it. It's an image that we do believe looks like my brother," Alves said.
Alves said their father gave police the name of a potential stalker at the time of the disappearance and that the person was never interviewed; she further said the individual's alibi has since changed. She asked state authorities not to let the case become "another missed opportunity."
The Colorado Springs Police Department provided a brief statement saying it has contacted all persons of interest and "continues to follow up on investigative leads as they arise." The department did not provide additional details about the suspect named by the family or the status of any recent investigative steps.
Christopher's mother, Bernice, died in 2017, and his father died in 2020. Alves said the loss of her parents left the family without key advocates. She recounted that her mother would have a physical reaction when the case was discussed and said her mother failed a lie detector test twice; Alves suggested the stress of the case affected her mother's results.
Investigators and the family have pursued leads over the decades. In 2018 a man came forward claiming he might be Christopher, but the family said the information proved not to be credible. Alves said the family is continuing to share the age-progressed image publicly and is asking the public for any information that could help identify Christopher or locate him if he is alive.
The family's request to involve the CBI requires action by the governor's office. The appeal places the long-unsolved disappearance into the orbit of state-level law enforcement, which has taken over other high-profile cold cases in Colorado at the family's or officials' request. A CBI review could bring new forensic or investigative resources, but the office has not commented publicly on whether it will accept the case.
The renewed public attention follows the release of the NCMEC image on Sept. 11, 2025. Alves urged anyone with information to contact Colorado Springs police or the appropriate missing-persons hotlines, saying the family remains determined to learn what happened to Christopher and to end decades of uncertainty.