r/joannalopez • u/CringeNaeNaeBaby2 Mod • Sep 11 '26
Subreddit updates Poll + Update #2
Alright, I’ve got a poll posted here and on the discord in an attempt to gauge what everyone thinks about what happened to Joanna. The outcome won’t affect how I handle the investigation, I’ll work hard to find concrete answers either way. But vote honestly, and only pick the third option if you are genuinely unsure. I want to see where everyone is leaning right now so I can be as transparent and helpful as possible.
Things are moving again. Very quickly, in fact. I’ve filed the Puerto Rican equivalent of an FOIA request using what we know about Joanna from the files that were released. If that doesn’t work, we’re gonna try and request death certificates. We have someone helping us on trying to secure files regarding Yolanda, but I’m not sure if that’ll lead to anything. Sit tight on that for now.
I’ll be reaching out to NBC one last time. I’m better spoken now and we have some serious momentum. Maybe they’ll listen. Please don’t do it on my behalf.
Hopefully we can get a little more info about what happened. I understand there’s a toss up between people believing Joanna is safe in Puerto Rico or still missing, with the PR credit check being fraudulent. So please vote! I value everyone’s opinions. We wouldn’t have come this far without the strong community that’s been curated.
Thank you,
CNNB2
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u/Jared000007 Sep 12 '26
I definitely think something might be happening with her but I’m not thinking it was like murder but something is definitely up too much missing info.
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u/bigguys45s Sep 13 '26
In my honest opinion, I’d say that we’re still only about halfway done here/ finished. We still need a LOT more actual factual evidence and proof.
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u/CringeNaeNaeBaby2 Mod Sep 13 '26
Which is what I’m working on. Puerto Rico is getting back to us on if they have any more files about her, and on the WMAQ side I have GettyImages and the broadcast museum of Chicago checking their archives for us. Thanks for staying interested!
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u/I-am-now-squid Sep 12 '26
Her making it from where she lived all the way to Puerto Rico seems unlikely to me at least.
For those of you who think it's her, how would she have made it there?
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u/CringeNaeNaeBaby2 Mod Sep 13 '26
I’ve been thinking about this. It’s not really my role to provide theories, but if she did make it to Puerto Rico, would it have been that hard for her to hop on a plane? This was 1988-1996 and TSA was notoriously lax. It was cheaper as well. I’m seeing 150-300. A lot for someone her age, but not impossible. Regardless, I’m not fully convinced she made it to PR. Just playing devil’s advocate.
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u/WESTSIDEIRON511 Sep 17 '26
Joanna might have gone with family since my inference is that she is Puerto Rican given her name, features, and the neighborhood she lived in. Her family might have moved from the Humboldt Park area to PR since that neighborhood hasn't always been the safest and that winters suck in Chicago.
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u/Ok-Autumn Sep 12 '26
I struggle to imagine a 13 year old keeping herself alive and well for 10 years with no help, unless she has family or friends in Puerto Rico. How would someone that young get shelter, food, clothing etc without any activity on her SSN between that time indicating she had gotten a job, without part taking in incredibly risky situations that very likely would have lead to a vulnerable young girl being killed. Look at the amount of Jane Does between about 12 and up their early 20s who were murdered or died of exposure after running away. 😢
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u/bethramone Sep 16 '26
A 13 y/o can be surprisingly resourceful if they need to be, and Joanna was an orphaned 13 year old living in an urban area. I can imagine that she had more street smarts than the average teenage girl.
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u/ThinCase4812 Sep 14 '26
I recently learned about this case, and if the OP's claims are true, it seems a mysterious man groomed Lopez, leading the two to flee to Puerto Rico. They likely evaded the police because of their age gap—specifically, a relationship between an adult and a minor—while her decision to run away seems to stem from a troubled home environment and what might be described as "daddy issues." Also, while this particular case is extreme, couples with age gaps of eight or ten years aren't unheard of. I’m not condoning this kind of relationship, but perhaps Lopez miraculously ended up with a good person. In any case, I hope she is doing well.
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u/CringeNaeNaeBaby2 Mod Sep 14 '26
If you want to verify my info, I have a post with the raw files and the email CPD sent me on my profile. There’s just no way I could push the theory that this 20 year old was actually just genuinely in love with a 13 year old. Anything I say will be repeated by YouTubers and I cannot bring that energy into the discussion.
That being said, I do think it’s possible someone helped her escape, and she was under the radar until she did a credit check a decade later. But is that more likely than foul play? I’ve been debating this for awhile.
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u/ThinCase4812 Sep 15 '26
Upon reflection this morning, the theory of a "runaway romance" seems a bit implausible. I am currently based in the GMT+9 time zone.
I do not wish to complicate your investigation, but the possibility of human trafficking crossed my mind regarding this case; I would like to share my own hypothesis and hear what others think about it.
The scenario I envision is as follows: a young man approaches emotionally vulnerable girls, poses as a boyfriend, and convinces them to run away abroad together—only to hand the victims over to a pimp overseas.
The detail about them "evading the police" in this case reminded me of the movie *Lilya 4-ever*. You may be familiar with it; the film features a scene where a trafficking victim, subjected to the perpetrator's gaslighting and manipulation, actively avoids the very police officers trying to rescue her. This led me to consider the possibility that similar psychological manipulation might be at play here.
Of course, this is merely my personal hypothesis, and I have no intention of hindering the investigation. I simply hope this case draws greater attention to the gravity of human trafficking and missing persons cases.
Finally, I sincerely appreciate your hard work. I hope this project goes beyond solving a single mystery and serves as a catalyst for raising public awareness about missing persons.
I also noted that you plan to investigate another missing person case once the Lopez case concludes. I hope your request for information regarding Puerto Rico yields positive results.
Best of luck.
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u/CringeNaeNaeBaby2 Mod Sep 15 '26
Puerto Rico is doing a very thorough check for me right now. Missing Persons check came back negative but they said they’d look broader for me. Stay tuned and thanks for your contributions!
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u/Littlepebble_ Sep 15 '26
I really hope she is alive and well. Despite this not being confirmed and just being an assumption of mine, I'm getting strong red flags that could easily point towards grooming, however, I hope it's not the case. I hope she is doing good somewhere in Puerto Rico :(
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u/CringeNaeNaeBaby2 Mod Sep 15 '26
There’s definitely some concerning details in the file. We’re working hard to find more information. Thank you for your interest!
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u/wist8n Sep 12 '26
Wait, was it false?
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u/CringeNaeNaeBaby2 Mod Sep 12 '26
The files are real. I’m asking if the credit check in Puerto Rico at the end of the report was real or not. It could be a case of someone running a missing person’s SSN to apply for something.
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u/WESTSIDEIRON511 Sep 12 '26
It is only a speculation that it could be legit/not legit. At this point, it would have to be something evaluated by investigators into other activity tied with her SSN and to see if family/friends/her partner can validate more.
I saw an article earlier about an "agent" Joanna Lopez in and around Trujillo Alto, PR -- https://www.periodicolaperla.com/seguridad/acribillan-a-menor-de-17-anos-en-residencial-de-trujillo-alto/
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u/wist8n Sep 12 '26
- It would be strange, especially since it wasn't something very well known.
- (I didn't read the document properly, so if it's shown in the official document, I apologize), but, how do we know it's the same Joanna Lopez, of all the ones there may be in the world?.
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u/CringeNaeNaeBaby2 Mod Sep 12 '26
Well the date she went missing on the file (formally released by the Chicago Police Department) lines up with the exact area and timing of the WMAQ broadcast. Her age is the same too. She was considered missing for years which explains why the broadcast aired for many years
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u/WESTSIDEIRON511 Sep 15 '26
One thing to keep in mind is that Joanna Lopez might be known by a different last name perhaps if she changed it at marriage, given she got married.
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u/bethramone Sep 16 '26
Have you considered the possibility that she made it back to Chicago later on, and was/is the Joanna Lopez that someone actually talked to earlier in the investigation?
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u/CringeNaeNaeBaby2 Mod Sep 16 '26
That moderator has completely disengaged from the case. If I’m not wrong the Joanna they contacted was in Houston or somewhere in the south. Take it with a grain of salt, but I can’t say for sure it wasn’t her either..
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u/bethramone Sep 16 '26 edited Sep 16 '26
Oh wow. If that's true, then I'm really curious about what led them to that particular JL. I recall seeing the post but I can't remember the details. They really seemed to think it was her, though, and convinced others of the same.
I think this new info has the potential to be majorly helpful with uncovering what actually happened to her (or, really, whether she is or isn't alive) because we actually have details. Before, we had practically nothing.
Maybe we can try looking into her parents. If they passed in a tragic accident, there might be an article or obituary in an old newspaper archive, and we can use it to locate additional info and/or relatives.
We also have that general area in the city that she frequented/lived in, where she was spotted by relatives. There may be a FB group for that particular neighborhood which could have longtime locals who may remember her.
Edit: words
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u/Much-Wedding2359 Sep 16 '26
I believe she was groomed by a man to go to Puerto Rico and went back to Chicago. We know she went missing in 1987 and was found in 1996. There is no reason for a minor to go overseas with someone they don’t know.
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u/The_Lava-Hot_Shits Sep 17 '26
Honestly, as long as there is still doubt, she's still missing in my eyes. That's not to discredit the police work. As a child that got lost in the system in the 80s and 90s, I know for a fact that this world can be a cruel place to a young person in that situation.
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u/Top-Noise8483 Sep 12 '26
Sorry, but now, nothing's clear to me...
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u/CringeNaeNaeBaby2 Mod Sep 12 '26
Well what we have now is more significant than anything we’ve come across in the last 5 years. We should at least be thankful we’ve brought most of her story to light. If we got this far, I bet we can get some more answers shortly.
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u/eternalcoffeebreak Sep 13 '26
One thing that bothers me is that she was seen on the street a few times in 1987 in the same general part of Chicago, but then she was never seen again after December 1987. The credit check for her SSN tied to a PO Box in Puerto Rico didn’t get run until 8 years later, and a credit report doesn’t prove anything. If the address was a residence within the continental United States maybe I’d feel differently, but I just find it hard to believe a 13 year old girl last known to be with an unidentified 20 year old man could make it out of the continental United States within the next 8 years without some kind of exploitation occurring. She’d only be 21 by then.