7-Year-Old Found Locked in Closet and Starving; Austin Police Search for Missing Sister

DEL VALLE, TX — A 7-year-old girl was found malnourished and locked in a closet at a home in Del Valle on April 3, prompting a search for her missing sister, Ava Marie Gonzales, who has not been seen since 2017, authorities said.

Austin police responded to a 911 call and found the girl “soiled and malnourished,” barricaded inside a small bedroom closet. Six other children in the home appeared physically healthy, according to Detective Russell Constable. The girl was hospitalized and is now recovering.

During the investigation, police learned that Ava Marie Gonzales, now 9, had not been seen since she was 2 years old. She was last known to be in the custody of her mother, Virginia Gonzales. Photos of Ava as a toddler and an age-progressed image were released by police, who pleaded with the public to help locate her.

Virginia Gonzales was arrested on April 24 on a charge of serious injury to a child. She is being held at the Travis County Correctional Complex on a $75,000 bond, according to jail records.

Constable said Gonzales gave conflicting information to relatives and authorities about Ava’s whereabouts and that the child had never been formally reported missing. The father has not been located.

An arrest affidavit stated the 7-year-old was discovered by her grandmother inside a closet measuring 4 feet, 9 inches by 1 foot, 10 inches, with boxes weighing more than 75 pounds stacked in front. The grandmother told police the other children were forced to lock her in the closet because she tried to eat food she wasn’t allowed to have. One child said she was given a hot dog or corn dog in the morning and half a cup of water each day.

None of the children were enrolled in school, police said. The investigation is ongoing.