FL ADJI DESIR: Missing from Immokalee, FL - 10 Jan 2009 - Age 6

Adji's photo is shown age progressed to 15 years. The photo on the right is also of him. Adji was last seen wearing a blue and yellow t-shirt, blue and yellow shorts, and black and gray sneakers.
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Adji was last seen in Immokalee, Florida on January 10, 2009. His mother left him at his grandmother's home in Farm Workers Village in the 800 block of Grace Street that day, as she had to work. Adji was last seen at approximately 5:15 p.m. He went outside to play with other children and disappeared.

His grandmother realized he was missing about half an hour after she'd last seen him. After searching for two hours, Adji's grandmother called the police. He has never been heard from again. An extensive search of the area turned up no indication of his whereabouts.

Adji lived with his mother and stepfather at the time of his disappearance. Investigators looked into the possibility that Adji was taken to Haiti, where his father and extended family members live, but they found no evidence to support this theory.

None of Adji's family members are considered suspects in his disappearance. His grandmother no longer lives in the Farm Worker's Village; she now shares a home with Adji's mother and stepfather, who have since given birth to a daughter they named after her brother.

Authorities believe Adji either wandered away, or was abducted by a non-relative. His case remains unsolved.

NCMEC -

Have you seen this child? ADJI DESIR

Missing From: IMMOKALEE, FL. Missing Date: 01/10/2009. Adji's photo is shown age progressed to 15 years. The photo on the right is also of him. Adji was last seen wearing a blue and yellow t-shirt, blue and yellow shorts, and black and gray sneakers.

api.missingkids.org

Charley Project -

Adji Desir – The Charley Project

NamUs -

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

edited by staff to add media link

ADJI DESIR has been #missing from Immokalee, #FLORIDA since 10 Jan 2009. He was last seen outside playing with other children.

His mother left him at his grandmother's home in Farm Workers Village in the 800 block of Grace Street that day, as she had to work. Adji was last seen at approximately 5:15 p.m. He went outside to play with other children and disappeared.

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Authorities believe Adji either wandered away, or was abducted by a non-relative. His case remains unsolved.

Does anyone have any theories on this? I can't seem to stick on one between the two of these.

There is extensive farmland in the area that he could have wandered into. But I have to think that after 11 years, some trace of him would have been found. Especially with the heavy use of the land.
Farm Workers Village is right next to a highway. There's a chance he could have been abducted. But again, that's one heck of a crime of opportunity.

 

[GarAndMo39]

Does anyone have any theories on this? I can't seem to stick on one between the two of these.

I wish I did; this child haunts me, too. I'm leaning toward abducted, but I really don't know.

 

[Kimster]

I wish I did; this child haunts me, too. I'm leaning toward abducted, but I really don't know.

And I think he's lost out there somewhere and they just haven't found his remains. I wonder if law enforcement is as divided behind the scenes? Or are they leaning one way or the other?

 

[Guess Who]

Does anyone have any theories on this? I can't seem to stick on one between the two of these.

There is extensive farmland in the area that he could have wandered into. But I have to think that after 11 years, some trace of him would have been found. Especially with the heavy use of the land.
Farm Workers Village is right next to a highway. There's a chance he could have been abducted. But again, that's one heck of a crime of opportunity.

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If he became scared and tucked in to a nice, small hidey hole, he could easily be overlooked and be under a lot of vegetation. Or the story of how he disappeared is not what really happened.

 

[GarAndMo39]

Or the story of how he disappeared is not what really happened.

That's occurred to me more than once, but I can't say I've followed the case closely.

 

[KareBear]

“He is mentally handicapped and functions at approximately a 2-year-old level. He is non-verbal and has a very limited vocabulary.”

Seven-Year-Old Adji Desir is Missing | Federal Bureau of Investigation

A 7-year-old Florida boy is missing. FBI Special Agent Kevin McCormick is working with Collier County authorities looking for Adji Desir.

www.fbi.gov

 

[KareBear]

Without sounding judgy... does anyone else find it odd that they named their new baby after him? How do they know he won't return and then have will have 2 children with the same name? It seems more like a commemoration.

 

[Guess Who]

Without sounding judgy... does anyone else find it odd that they named their new baby after him? How do they know he won't return and then have will have 2 children with the same name? It seems more like a commemoration.

i know somebody that named their second baby the exact same name as their deceased baby. It kind of creeped me out and it didn't help that they were a bit creepy to start with. The exact same 4 names. No deviation at all.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Without sounding judgy... does anyone else find it odd that they named their new baby after him? How do they know he won't return and then have will have 2 children with the same name? It seems more like a commemoration.

I do find it strange, but not really condemning, per se.
They had a daughter, so it's not like it would be two "Adji"s. I believe they named her Adjiani. Other families have done similar with a middle name.

 

[KareBear]

I do find it strange, but not really condemning, per se.
They had a daughter, so it's not like it would be two "Adji"s. I believe they named her Adjiani. Other families have done similar with a middle name.

Oh ok... so it was a variation of his name... that's different. I would just feel like I was trying to replace him if it was the same exact name..
Not condemning, for sure, but for me it would feel like I was accepting that he was gone (forever).

 

[KareBear]

i know somebody that named their second baby the exact same name as their deceased baby. It kind of creeped me out and it didn't help that they were a bit creepy to start with. The exact same 4 names. No deviation at all.

But see... they knew that their child was deceased...

 

[Guess Who]

But see... they knew that their child was deceased...

but it was like they were just totally wiping out the complete history of the one they lost. He was nearly a year old when they lost him. At least one of his 4 names could have been slightly different from the other one.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Tough one. I personally would never use the same name for another child. All individuals are unique and your children I would hope especially individual to you, however, all are different and perhaps if it was a family carry on of a name or it was female versus male with variation, it would seem like honoring the child to some...?

So this is an old case but one in which the child was non-verbal and had some disabilities? At first I thought it was recent and this year, since we have seen a "rash" of that lately or so it seems.

Sounds like a tough one with little evidence in any direction.

 

[Stunned]

If you have ever spent time in Immokalee, South Bay, Belle Glade or-any of the small towns around lake Okeechobee around 27 or 29. You would see labor camps / migrant camps in deplorable conditions. The poorest of the poor.

 

[daisy7]

Police: Boy found in Texas likely not Adji Desir

Police in Midland, Texas, provided an update on the unidentified boy found wandering alone. Many people in Southwest Florida have been wondering if it might be a child missing from Collier County since 2009. WINK News spoke with the mother of missing Adji Desir right before police gave their...

www.winknews.com

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Police: Boy found in Texas likely not Adji Desir

Police in Midland, Texas, provided an update on the unidentified boy found wandering alone. Many people in Southwest Florida have been wondering if it might be a child missing from Collier County since 2009. WINK News spoke with the mother of missing Adji Desir right before police gave their...

www.winknews.com

In case anyone still had this in the back of their mind. They have finally been able to confirm this young man’s identity, and he is not Adji.

https://www.cbs7.com/2023/08/21/identity-cordarius-discovered-his-mother-arrested/
After months of investigating, the Midland Police Department has finally discovered the identity of Cordarius, a non-verbal boy who was found in Midland.

According to MPD, the boy’s full name is Cordarius Lashun Pegues, and he is 24 years old.

MPD arrested 47-year-old Charlotte Latasha Pegues, Cordarius’s mother, was arrested for Exploitation of a Disabled Individual.

 

[daisy7]

In case anyone still had this in the back of their mind. They have finally been able to confirm this young man’s identity, and he is not Adji.

https://www.cbs7.com/2023/08/21/identity-cordarius-discovered-his-mother-arrested/
After months of investigating, the Midland Police Department has finally discovered the identity of Cordarius, a non-verbal boy who was found in Midland.

According to MPD, the boy’s full name is Cordarius Lashun Pegues, and he is 24 years old.

MPD arrested 47-year-old Charlotte Latasha Pegues, Cordarius’s mother, was arrested for Exploitation of a Disabled Individual.

Where is Adji??

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

The search for Adji Desir continues 15 years later

Fifteen years ago, Adji Desir, 6, was reported missing after last being seen outside his grandmother's house in Immokalee.

winknews.com

The search for Adji Desir continues 15 years later​

Fifteen years ago, Adji Desir, 6, was reported missing after last being seen outside his grandmother’s house in Immokalee.

It remains unknown if Desir had wandered off or was kidnapped. It begs the question for detectives with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office: is there hope that Adji will be found or will the search be called off?

WINK News asked a detective working the case, and his response was hopeful.

Adji’s face was on the cover of People magazine, billboards and flyers sent to 75 million homes across the nation in 2009.

More than 1,300 law enforcement agencies, including 700 CCSO deputies, were deployed throughout Florida, committing to an extensive air, ground and water search since Desir’s disappearance.

Deputies said they had received many leads regarding the whereabouts of Adji, spanning as far as midland Texas in 2023, where a tip had been submitted claiming a possible sighting of Desir. Unfortunately, all the results returned negative.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]