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Although African-Americans make up just 13 percent of the U.S. population, we account for 33 percent of the missing in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s database. Cases involving African-Americans also tend to receive less media coverage than missing Whites, with missing men of color getting even less attention.

NewsOne has partnered with the Black and Missing Foundation to focus on the crisis of missing African-Americans.

To be a part of the solution, NewsOne will profile missing persons and provide tips about how to keep your loved ones safe and what to do if someone goes missing.


Arianna Fitts

Case Type: Endangered

Date of Birth: Jan. 1, 2014

Missing Date: February 28, 2016

Age Now: 2

Missing City: San Francisco

Missing State: California

Gender: Female

Race: Black

Complexion: Medium

Height: 2′-0″ (at the time of disappearance)

Weight: 45 pounds (at the time of disappearance)

Hair Color: Black

Hair Length: Medium

Eye Color: Brown

Wear Glasses or Contacts: No

Location Last Seen: Arianna Fitts was reported missing in San Francisco on April 5, 2016. The toddler was last seen in February.

Arianna Fitts

Source: Family Photo / FBI

Circumstances of Disappearance: The toddler is considered at risk after her mother was murdered. Arianna’s mother Nicole Fitts was found dead and buried in the fetal position in McLaren Park in San Francisco. Authorities believe Ariana was not with her mother at the time she was killed.

Arianna’s family is holding out hope she may still be alive and in the Bay Area. The San Francisco Police Department took the unusual step of sharing evidence from the area where Fitts was found murdered, including a piece of plywood with a painted symbol on it that was found on top of the body, as well as the shirt she was wearing when she went missing. Police believe the plywood did not come from the location where Fitts was found.

“She’s still out there, we’re still looking,” Fitts’ sister Kathryn Foxx told ABC 7 News in San Francisco.

KTVU also reported police were looking into individuals who previously babysat Arianna. Fitts worked at Best Buy and was struggling financially, according to family and friends.

Dave Spencer, who worked with Fitts at Best Buy, told ABC 7 she was always worried about her daughter.

“She had trouble keeping her in a safe place while she was at work,” he told the station.

KTVU reported Fitts left Arianna with a woman who turned the girl over to her sister and her husband.

“Someone wanted Arianna as their own,” Fitts sister Contessa Fitts told ABC 7.

An attorney for the couple denied wrongdoing and questioned whether they were the last people to have possession of Arianna.

Fitts’ sisters described her as a kind and loving mother.

But the case has gone cold since May. Prentice Danner, a spokesman for the San Francisco FBI, told NewsOne there have been no new developments. The FBI is providing technical support and resources for the San Francisco Police Department, which is handling the case.

“As long as she is declared missing, we will continue to help the San Francisco Police Department,” said Danner.

Fitts and her daughter had contacts throughout the Bay Area, including Oakland, Santa Cruz and the Silicon Valley.

Last Seen Wearing: Unknown.

Identifying Marks or Characteristics: Unknown.

Anyone with information about the death of Nicole Fitts or the whereabouts of Arianna Fitts may contact your local FBI office and also send confidential information to the Black and Missing Foundation’s Tip Line.

SEE ALSO:

Nicholas Alexander Lee McCray Goes Missing On Way Home To Detroit

Arianna Fitts, Missing Toddler Of Murdered San Francisco Woman, May Still Be Alive  was originally published on newsone.com