There was a reason Cynthia Haag did not move out of her home for 20 years. This mother decided to stay put in Baltimore in the hopes that her daughter was going to come back. Two decades ago, her daughter disappeared all of a sudden. What makes it all worse is the fact that she had only been 14 years old when she went missing. A long time after her disappearance, the entire family was reunited… However, was this really for the best?
Unanswered
It was all a huge puzzle. None of them had any idea why she disappeared like that. Of course, this meant that they had even fewer clues about how she was doing and where she went. Despite this, Cynthia did not lose hope that she and her daughter were going to be reunited in the future.
Unanswered
Single Mom
It happened in 1997. Back then, Cynthia was a single working mom trying to provide for four children. She worked as much as she could, both in the house and at the store. It was difficult to juggle both things at once, but there was nothing else for her to do.
Single Mom
Just Another Day
On the day that tragedy struck, Cynthia had a shift at the store. Crystal even went there to buy some cereal and milk before returning home. This was not unusual at all and happened fairly often back then. Cynthia told her young daughter, “Stay around the house today.” The teenager said that she would. This poor mother had no idea that she would not see Crystal for a very long time after this.
Just Another Day
Nowhere
After Cynthia went home, she did find Crystal anywhere in the house. This worried her, so she contacted friends and relatives to ask if they knew where she was. When no one could tell her the whereabouts, she tried not to panic. After a while, she knew that it was time to get in touch with the police.
Nowhere
The Baseball Cap
She was a mother, so she could not help but think about the most terrible possibilities. Where could Crystal be? Every time that she passed by a young brunette, she checked if it was her daughter. “She always wore a baseball cap,” shared the distressed mom. However, this was not going to be enough.
The Baseball Cap
Years Passing
It had been two decades since Crystal went missing. The police had already stopped looking for her. All of a sudden, the situation changed when one of the other Haag daughters called Cynthia to say that she received a Facebook message. It was from Crystal! Could it be that it was really her missing daughter?
Years Passing
News
After such a long time, Cynthia could not believe it. However, she verified that it was truly Crystal after going through the Facebook page of the woman. Bianca, the eldest of her daughters, got in the car and left for New York City in no time at all. That night, the family was reunited after all these years.
News
Reunited
Crystal was different. She was now fluent in Spanish and had children of her own. Her hair was short, and her name was now Crystal Sanders. On top of that, she said her age was 44 when she should have been 35 instead. There were things that did not make sense, but they were just glad to have her back in their lives. Cynthia hugged her youngest daughter and said, “Still my pretty girl.”
Reunited
What Happened
We know that it already sounds complicated, but it turns out that even the family was shocked by the truth. Crystal left for a very specific purpose. She could no longer take what was going on, so she decided to run away. What was the reason for skipping town? Where did she go on that day?
What Happened
Making The Decision
After leaving, Crystal was in a tight spot. There was nowhere for her to go, but it felt like the best thing for her to do. There was something, someone, that she wanted to get away from. This sounded better than dealing with this person.
Making The Decision
New Beginning
The very night that she skipped town, she drew up a plan. It involved riding a bus and getting off in New York. When she got there, she started a transformation. She started calling herself Crystal Saunders and claimed to be nine years older. She even managed to get a fake driver’s license with these credentials.
New Beginning
Different Life
After taking on her new identity, she was able to work as a house cleaner. Crystal also got herself a place in the Bronx. It is pretty incredible to think that she did all of this at the age of 14. But how did she even make everything work? Even though she was young, her plan was airtight.
Different Life
Plan In Action
That night, she spent some time with her friends as usual. They were all out until midnight. This was when Crystal left to start a new life. She did not have much on her when she took the bus that was bound for New York. What was going to happen to her over there?
Plan In Action
First Child
Not long after settling in New York, Crystal had a bun in the oven. It was a good thing that she was able to obtain a Medicaid card under her new identity. She wound up bearing three more kids after that. While living in New York, she integrated into the Dominican community.
First Child
Community
She got very close to the members of the Dominican community. She would call the others “cousin” and “grandma.” This was how she earned a new family. Even though her new life was going well, she still thought a lot about her past.
Community
New Language
Crystal had no choice but to live in the present. She now had four kids to raise, after all. Even though she was going through a lot, she managed to master Spanish. Despite this, she could not help but to check out what her mother and sister were up to via Facebook. But how come she never contacted them?
New Language
Thirteen Years
Crystal had been missing for 13 years by the time 2010 rolled in. According to the Baltimore police, they already did everything they could to look for her. Sadly, the only thing for them to do was to inform Cynthia that they had already “exhausted” all the means to search for Crystal. This was the year that the poor mother stopped celebrating the holiday season.
Thirteen Years
Life Must Go On
If you want the exact numbers, Crystal had been gone for 20 years, ten months, and two weeks. Her mother refused to budge from their Baltimore home. After all, she was still hoping that Crystal would return home.
Life Must Go On
Miracle
Cynthia had no idea that this was going to happen. She hoped that it would, but it was hard to imagine this after all the years that have passed. This mother dreamed about this day for years, but it still came as a shock. What made Crystal get in touch with them all of a sudden?
Miracle
Adjusting
Even though Crystal was now home, a lot of things have changed over the years. Let us not forget that she had been gone for more than two decades. They all felt joy and excitement, of course. However, they still had to address exactly what happened in the past.
Adjusting
New Relationship
Both the mother and daughter knew that they needed to start over. It was going to take patience and effort to rebuild a relationship. But before anything else, they needed to catch up. By this point, they were almost complete strangers. How do you even start after everything that has happened?
New Relationship
Curiosity
When things have somewhat toned down, it was time for them to address the elephant in the room. Cynthia could not help but ask. What made Crystal run away anyway? Did the blame lie on her?
Curiosity
Changes
However, it was very difficult for Cynthia to ask this question. It was not an easy situation to be in. This mother did not want to put any pressure on Crystal now that they have reunited. The truth was that she had no idea how her daughter will react, so she was careful around Crystal.
Changes
Unfortunate Statistics
It was quite unbelievable that she ended up coming home. One might even call it a miracle. When you look at the reports, you will learn that half a million kids disappear on a yearly basis. The majority come back or are found. However, let us not forget about the ones who do not…
Unfortunate Statistics
The Remainder
There are times when it takes a couple of months before the missing children return home. Even though it is rarer, it can even take a year or more than that. Sadly, there are times when these kids are not found at all.
The Remainder
The Rest
The sad truth is that the rest of the missing children are normally never found. This is what makes this case so unique. Crystal had been gone for more than two decades before she finally came home. People think that these situations will lead to a “fairy tale ending.” However, there is no guarantee of that.
The Rest
Rebuilding
Like we said earlier, the situation turns more complicated the longer a missing child is away. There is no way they can return and continue living the same way they did in the past. Both sides need to reconcile with this development after being used to the separation. It will take patience and time to reconnect. Let us see if Crystal and Cynthia managed to get over what happened…
Rebuilding
Time Period
Can you imagine just how hard it is going to be to start from scratch after such a long time? Despite this, the only thing that Cynthia wanted was to learn that Crystal was healthy and fine. However, what were things going to be like for this family now?
Time Period
Talking
At last, they found the time to discuss what happened in the past. Cynthia has always described Crystal as a sweet girl. She remembered how her fourth kid got an award for complimenting other people when she was in the fifth grade. As far as this mom knew, she got along with her peers and liked school.
Talking
Different Memories
Her mother spoke of these memories with fondness. However, Crystal would not have used the same words to describe her childhood. According to her, she did not get along with her siblings. On top of that, she would sneak out regularly. Her description certainly did not align with what her mother said.
Different Memories
Final Decision
This was part of the reason Crystal decided to run away. She had the feeling that it was now or never when she spent time with her friends. “And then it was 12 [a.m.], and I wasn’t going back,” she said. If this was how she could get out of this mess, she was going to take her chance.
Final Decision
New Identity
When she got to New York, she held on to her new identity. It was a good thing that it was easy to remember. After all, she did not change anything except for relatively minor details such as her surname and age. She had to do everything low-profile if she wanted this to work out.
New Identity
Pulling It Off
We mentioned that she added 9 years to her real age. How on earth did she pull that off?! To begin with, she always looked older than her true age. This was how she went from 14 years old to 23. After getting to New York, she soon gave birth to her firstborn child.
Pulling It Off
Family
It was inevitable for people to ask her questions about her family. Crystal managed by telling people that she did not have one. Usually, people left it alone after hearing that. “It’s not a rare thing to not have a family,” she explained. She managed to integrate herself into a different environment and community.
Family
Learning
When she got to New York, she found refuge by joining the Dominican community in the area. In fact, she immersed herself so fully that she could now speak Spanish! She also started her own family. After some time, her new identity was taking root. But we still don’t understand why she chose to leave.
Learning
Explaining
In the end, Crystal told her mother the reason she skipped town. It turns out that she had been suffering sexual abuse at the hands of a neighbor. This started when she was no more than 9 years old and kept happening for years. Back then, it happened so frequently that she did not think it was unusual.
Explaining
Unbelievable
This was the first time that Cynthia had ever heard about it. It was shocking to hear that this terrible thing had been happening to Crystal, yet she had no idea. All this time, Crystal assumed that her mother knew what was going on. However, the truth was that she was not aware of it at all.
Unbelievable
Only Plan
It all makes sense now. Crystal had been going through so much suffering back then. This made her hop on a bus and disappear without a trace. The situation was simply too much for anyone, especially a young girl, to go through. Cynthia was heartbroken to hear this and cried silently. We hope that both of them have since healed from the past, patched things up, and rebuilt a relationship with each other.
Only Plan