Relatives of a California teen who was allegedly hidden for two years by a school teacher say they were racked with pain fearing the boy they had reported missing might be dead.
The “family was suffering in agony every day wondering what happened to him and whether he was dead or alive,”Digital was told by Katte Smith. Smith and her husband were the boy’s aunt, uncle, and legal guardians.
According to his aunt, Michael Ramirez was only 15 when he ran from home after a family dispute over discipline. His family reported him missing to authorities in June 2020.
The teen was not found after a thorough search by Rancho Cordova police officers and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputies. Fliers were distributed throughout the region. Smith posted the photos on her Facebook page along with Ramirez’s photos and pleas for Ramirez’s safe return.
She did interviews with local media with her husband. Ramirez was born in March. “inexplicably”Police said that he had returned to his family. The teen, now 17, said that he wanted to go home to his family and that he was staying with the mother of his childhood girlfriend.
On Oct. 20, Holga Castillo Olivares, 61, was arrested by Rancho Cordova Police officers, according to a statement. She was charged with detention of a minor with intent to conceal from a parent and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, police said.
Olivares, who has been placed on leave from the Sacramento City Unified School District, taught at a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school, the district said. Officials from the district declined to comment on personnel issues.
Smith stated that Smith had interviewed the teacher to find her nephew.
Smith’s family, she explained, is a wonder. “how a public school teacher could do something like this and hide a missing child for over two years. To do so knowing that there was an active police investigation into the child’s disappearance.”
The alleged actions of the teacher “robbed us of so many things, but more importantly she robbed Michael of nearly two years of education and growth as a human being,”Smith stated.
“He was robbed of over two years of childhood, which he’ll never get back,”His aunt stated. All questions were referred to the attorney by her family. Digital sent a request for comment Friday morning.
Olivares did not plead guilty to the charges. This week, she was released on bail and told to not contact the teen or his family. Digital reached out to her attorney for comment but was not able to provide any.
Smith stated that her nephew and family are focused on the grieving process and helping the family heal. She asked for privacy.