‘Just return Lina back’: Father of missing 3-year-old girl recounts sorrowful month after daughter reported missing

SAPD says Lina’s disappearance remains a missing person case

SAN ANTONIO – It’s been one month since 3-year-old Lina Khil disappeared, and police have no leads on her whereabouts and are still calling this a missing person’s case. Her family is asking whoever has her to return her to a safe place.

Riaz Khil, Lina’s father, said his home is filled with sorrow and sadness since Lina disappeared on Dec. 20 from outside the family’s home at Villas del Cabo apartments. Lina’s mother, the last person to see her, says she just wants her daughter back.

“She’s very unhappy, and she is very sad and crying all the time, all the time. When she’s sitting at room or apartment, she’s crying and wants Lina back home,” said Riaz Khil through translator Lawang Mangal.

RELATED: Photo shows clothing, jewelry that missing 3-year-old Lina Khil was wearing the day she disappeared

Khil, who will turn 4 years old next month, is described as a happy toddler who loves to play makeovers with her friends.

“She had the makeup tools and dolls, and most of all, she liked to wear red dresses -- red traditional dress. So she liked the red color very much. She was a lovable girl,” Riaz Khil said.

After weeks of searches, San Antonio police have no leads and still call it a missing person’s case.

Lina’s parents are still hopeful that she will be found alive. The family remembers a lot of activity around the apartment complex with people coming in to make repairs, but they can’t say for sure if she was taken.

There’s a $150,000 reward for information that leads to the child’s whereabouts. Riaz Khil is asking that whoever has her come forward and collect the reward.

“Just leave her somewhere in a safe place and go,” he said. “There’s no offense. There is no revenge, and I will forgive him from my heart. Just return Lina back.”

Lina has a 2-year-old brother, and her mother is expecting another child in the summer. Her family continues to wait on information related to her disappearance. Anyone with information is asked to call SAPD Missing Person’s Unit at 210-207-7660.

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Patty Santos headshot

Patty Santos joined the KSAT 12 News team in July 2017. She has a proven track record of reporting on hard-hitting news that affects the community.

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Adam Barraza is a photojournalist at KSAT 12 and an El Paso native. He interned at KVIA, the local ABC affiliate, while still in high school. He then moved to San Antonio and, after earning a degree from San Antonio College and the University of the Incarnate Word, started working in news. He’s also a diehard Dodgers fan and an avid sneakerhead.

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