The Disappearance of Maribel Oquendo-Carrero: A 40-Year Mystery That Still Haunts Florida
By Danielle Fausz
In December of 1982, a nine-year-old girl named Maribel Oquendo-Carrero left her home in Homestead, Florida, to buy candy — and never came back. What began as an innocent walk to the corner store became one of Florida’s most haunting missing-child mysteries, a case tangled with family violence, trauma, and secrets that still linger more than forty years later.
A Simple Errand That Changed Everything
It was a Monday afternoon when Maribel asked her mom if she could go to a nearby convenience store called Food Spot #21. A friend of her father’s had given her some quarters, and she wanted to buy candy. She wore a white T-shirt, blue-and-pink pants, and beige-and-brown shoes.
The store clerk remembered her well — a sweet, polite little girl spending five dollars on candy before walking outside and climbing into a waiting car. That moment was the last confirmed sighting of Maribel Oquendo-Carrero.
The Family’s Dark History
Investigators quickly began to suspect Maribel’s father, Emiliano Olivo Oquendo, a man with a long record of abuse and violent behavior. He had terrorized Maribel’s mother, Ana Maria Hernandez, for years. The two had once lived together in New Jersey with their children, but Ana fled the relationship after enduring years of physical and emotional violence. She relocated first to Puerto Rico, then to Florida, hoping to start over.
But Emiliano found her again.
Just three days before Maribel vanished, he appeared at their home in Homestead, furious that Ana refused to take him back. According to family accounts, he tried to stab her and shouted, “I’m going to take away the thing you love the most.”
Three days later, her daughter was gone.
The Chilling Sight in Lake Worth
Weeks after Maribel’s disappearance, Ana and her teenage daughter saw Emiliano in Lake Worth, Florida, driving with what looked like a small girl in the back seat. When they saw him again later, the child was gone. Emiliano reportedly told Ana, “If you want to see your daughter again, you come live with me.”
The statement was enough to send chills through investigators, but not enough to press charges. Without physical evidence, the case went cold — leaving a family shattered and desperate for answers.
A Father’s Silence
Decades passed. Emiliano reappeared occasionally in Florida arrest records for petty crimes. Today, he’s in his eighties, living in a nursing home, reportedly suffering from dementia. Despite repeated questioning, he has never revealed what happened to Maribel.
If she’s still alive, Maribel would be fifty-two years old. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has created age-progressed images showing what she might look like today, hoping someone might recognize her face and finally bring closure to her family.
Forty Years Later — Still No Answers
The disappearance of Maribel Oquendo-Carrero remains one of Florida’s enduring mysteries. A simple trip for candy turned into a lifetime of grief and unanswered questions. Was she taken and hidden somewhere? Was she a victim of her father’s rage? Or is it possible that she survived — unaware of who she truly was?
Do you believe Emiliano Oquendo took his secret to the grave, or could Maribel still be out there somewhere, living under another name?
If you have any information about Maribel Oquendo-Carrero, contact the Homestead Police Department at 305-247-1535 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
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