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The Disappearance of Lina Sardar Khil Part 1

The Disappearance of Lina Sardar Khil Part 1

Released Tuesday, 31st January 2023
 1 person rated this episode
The Disappearance of Lina Sardar Khil Part 1

The Disappearance of Lina Sardar Khil Part 1

The Disappearance of Lina Sardar Khil Part 1

The Disappearance of Lina Sardar Khil Part 1

Tuesday, 31st January 2023
 1 person rated this episode
Rate Episode

Episode Transcript

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0:01

Before we start this episode, I'd

0:03

like to introduce you all to our friends,

0:06

Alison and Maggie's podcast, Coffee

0:08

and CASES. Like gone

0:10

cold, coffee and cases discusses

0:13

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0:15

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0:16

overlooked. I'll let them

0:18

tell you about it. Greetings

0:20

from the Bluegrass State. That's

0:22

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wanna tell you about the hottest new podcast

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If you fancy yourself an at home detective,

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If you find yourself yelling at the TV

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rarely, if ever heard

0:51

about all from the perspective of

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two teacher friends, rule followers,

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and self proclaimed scary cats.

0:58

Join me Alison and me Maggie

1:01

each week as we take on cases

1:03

that are often overlooked, but are

1:05

screaming for justice. Finally,

1:07

a true crime podcast where you don't have to monitor

1:10

the foul language. Coffee and cases

1:12

is a true crime Khil pleasure. That

1:14

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about. Check out coffee and

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episode on your favorite podcasting

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app. The

1:26

Gong Khil podcast may contain violent

1:28

or graphic subject

1:29

matter, listener discretion is advised.

1:32

For several

1:34

years in the mid and late two thousands,

1:37

the United States Central Intelligence

1:39

Agency built numerous bases

1:41

scattered around southern and eastern

1:43

Afghanistan. The

1:45

facilities were constructed to coordinate

1:48

and carry out what they called precisely

1:50

targeted drone strikes in Pakistan

1:53

aimed at taking down key members

1:55

of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Missions

1:58

for which the use of local informants was

2:01

a necessity. These

2:03

attacks weren't simply taking out

2:05

members of the militant terror groups.

2:07

However, no matter what they named

2:10

them. Civilian casualties

2:12

were also a commonplace in what

2:14

the US deemed the counter

2:16

terror operations. Tensions

2:19

were high between the Pakistani government

2:22

and the United States, who,

2:24

by two thousand nine, had significantly

2:26

escalated the drone attacks despite

2:29

the increased loss of civilian

2:32

life. The Taliban and

2:34

al Qaeda responded in kind

2:36

as the war raged on. On

2:41

Wednesday, December thirtieth two

2:43

thousand nine, an Afghan security

2:45

chief picked up a claimed informant

2:48

at the Afghanistan, Pakistan border

2:50

and drove him back to his place of operations,

2:53

forward operating base Chapman.

2:56

Located in Southeast Afghanistan

2:58

in the coast province. Out

3:01

of respect for the informant, who

3:03

said he had information related to

3:05

a high ranking al Qaeda leader. The

3:08

man was not searched. And

3:10

when they arrived at Camp Chapman at

3:12

four thirty pm. The informant

3:14

and the Afghan security chief were

3:16

waved through three security

3:18

checkpoints. After

3:20

driving deep into the walls of the base

3:23

where eight officials eager to

3:25

debrief the informant were waiting,

3:27

the car came to a stop. As

3:30

he was approached, the man detonated

3:32

the explosives well hidden

3:34

in his vest. Five

3:37

CIA officers, two CIA

3:39

contractors, an Afghan security

3:41

chief who picked the suicide bomber

3:43

up. And a Georganian intelligence

3:46

officer were killed. Because

3:49

of his work with the United States forces

3:52

in Afghanistan's coast province

3:54

and at Camp Chapman. Sardar

3:57

was able to bring his family to America.

4:00

Khil pregnant wife, Zarmina, and

4:02

their newborn baby, Lina. As

4:05

is the case with countless families there,

4:08

the Sardar kills were no strangers

4:10

to the seemingly endless war that

4:13

plagued the region. The

4:15

deadly blast at Camp Chapman in

4:18

two thousand nine was only one

4:20

of the many suicide bombings that

4:22

year. In fact, Sardar

4:25

Khil father who was the commander of

4:27

an Afghan battalion that

4:29

supported and aided US troops.

4:32

And Riaz's brother were killed

4:34

in one such attack. A

4:36

grandfather and an uncle, the

4:38

man's children, would never know.

4:41

In two thousand nineteen, when Riaz

4:43

and his family finally left, their

4:45

war ravaged and terror ridden

4:47

homeland behind, The

4:49

Sardar Khil looked forward

4:51

to a life free of tragedy

4:54

and death. But in

4:56

late twenty twenty one, tragedy

4:58

found, Riaz and his wife,

5:00

Zarmina, when their daughter, three

5:02

year old, Lina vanished.

5:29

Lina Sardar Khil was born on

5:31

February twentieth. Two thousand

5:33

eighteen to parents Riaz

5:35

and Zarmina. The

5:38

Khil family is from the PACSHOP province

5:40

of Afghanistan. An area

5:42

in the country's east where the civilian

5:45

population has undergone decades

5:47

of terror due to Soviet

5:49

occupation. Followed

5:51

soon after by the formation of the

5:53

Islamic, fundamentalist militant

5:55

movement, the Taliban, and

5:58

then an invasion and occupation

6:00

by the United States. Following

6:03

the US invasion of Afghanistan's

6:05

Stan, the Taliban fled to Pakistan.

6:08

But the United States mission was hardly

6:10

accomplished, and the war raged

6:13

on for two decades. Even

6:17

though his father wished for him a

6:19

college education and a career

6:21

far from the throes of war,

6:23

Lina Riaz, felt he had no

6:26

other means to protect and

6:28

provide for his family than

6:30

to join the military himself.

6:33

From two thousand thirteen Khil his

6:35

family left Afghanistan in

6:37

two thousand nineteen, Reas

6:39

Khil served as an Afghan

6:41

soldier. Working alongside his

6:43

American counterparts in the coast

6:46

province and at Camp Chapman, a

6:48

base that had been the target of several

6:51

Taliban and al Qaeda attacks.

6:54

Although in the late two thousand tens,

6:56

negotiations between the US

6:58

and the Taliban looked to be

7:00

headed in a positive direction. At

7:02

times, CIA backed

7:04

Afghan military strike forces continued

7:07

to carry out missions that resulted

7:09

in fatalities, including

7:11

civilians Khil children, and

7:13

diplomacy stall holder. Riaz

7:16

Sardar Kill's work consisted

7:18

mostly of intelligence, a

7:20

desk job, essentially, he

7:22

says. But his value to the US

7:25

military's effort was undoubtedly

7:27

high since it led the Taliban

7:29

to send death threats to the man

7:31

and his family. To

7:34

protect them, Riaz sought

7:36

and was granted special visas

7:38

for him, his wife, and

7:40

baby to move to the United

7:42

States. He didn't

7:44

want to die as an Afghan soldier

7:47

like his father had ten years

7:49

earlier and like his old man.

7:51

Twenty six year old Riaz wanted a

7:53

better future for his children.

7:57

After traveling to the US, Riaz

8:00

Zarmina and Lina Khil

8:03

settled in San Antonio, Texas.

8:06

At the time before the fall of

8:08

Kabbu, San Antonio's Afghan

8:10

refugee population was scant,

8:13

but refugee resettlement agencies

8:15

in the city placed the

8:17

Sardar Khil family near others

8:19

from their region of Afghanistan. They

8:23

ended up at the Via's Del Cabo

8:25

Apartments. The

8:27

complex located in a northwest

8:30

working class neighborhood at ninety

8:32

four hundred Fredericksburg Road,

8:34

near the city's medical center

8:36

area was hardly ideal if

8:38

tenants reviews or any indication.

8:42

Loud residents, vandalism,

8:44

and other crime, poor

8:46

maintenance and grounds keeping, mold,

8:48

and insect infestations are

8:51

just some of the negative comments left

8:53

by tenants, and they vastly

8:55

outnumber anything positive or

8:57

even neutral. Perhaps

8:59

the most ominous for this case

9:02

was left by a resident reviewer

9:04

in twenty twenty who blamed

9:06

the vandalism to their vehicles

9:08

on quote, the hordes of

9:10

unsupervised kids ages two

9:12

to fourteen that run around

9:14

all hours of the day and night screaming

9:16

and throwing anything they can

9:18

find. End quote. The

9:21

living conditions might not have been

9:23

ideal. But it beat the

9:25

daily fear of suicide bombers and

9:27

friendly fire back in Afghanistan.

9:30

And anyway, Riaz was working

9:32

hard to improve his family's situation.

9:36

Perhaps the one good thing the Via's Del

9:38

Cabo Apartments had to offer

9:40

Sardar Khil family was the many

9:42

other Afghan families that lived in

9:44

the complex, which gave them

9:46

the comfortable aspect of their

9:49

old home and lessened the stressful

9:51

expectation of acclimating to

9:53

their new home country. Before

9:56

law, the family was welcomed

9:58

into the shared culture that

10:00

tight knit community offered.

10:03

Zarmina quickly befriended the

10:05

Afghan women and mothers who

10:07

resided at the complex, as

10:09

well as others from a diversity of

10:11

backgrounds. Meanwhile,

10:14

Riaz became highly active in the

10:16

local Afghan council, a mobilizing

10:19

group that provides various types of

10:21

assistance to Afghan refugees

10:23

in San Antonio. He

10:26

drove for a few different ride hailing

10:28

services and delivery

10:30

companies as he awaited his commercial

10:32

driver's license. Everything

10:35

was going well for Sardar Kill

10:37

family, including Lina, who had a

10:39

new little brother to play with

10:41

and Dodon. Lina

10:43

was playful and although shy,

10:45

she and her brother got along well with the

10:47

other kids around the complex. In

10:51

fact, the Kill Home was

10:53

a meeting spot for Lina friends.

10:57

There, they played Beauty Shop,

10:59

and Lina often shared her favorite treat

11:01

with her friends, lollipops. Because

11:04

of their nearly cons interaction

11:07

with other children at the complex.

11:09

Lena and her brother were picking up some

11:11

English words, but the three year

11:13

old girl mostly spoke only posh

11:15

too. The lesser used of the

11:17

two official languages of

11:19

Afghanistan, but extremely

11:21

common, nonetheless. Even

11:25

with the new relationships with her

11:27

friends, Lina still venerated

11:29

her loving parents. She

11:31

followed them around closely, minded

11:34

them, and mimicked them. When

11:36

they knelt to pray, Lina did

11:38

as well. When

11:40

she was three years old in

11:43

August of twenty twenty one,

11:45

Lena accompanied her mother and

11:47

brother on a trip to Afghanistan to

11:49

care for Zarmina's ailing parents.

11:52

By then, Riaz was doing

11:54

long haul truck deliveries and could

11:56

not join them due to work.

11:58

The trip was to be

12:00

long but uneventful besides

12:02

the unrest that Sardar

12:05

kill had grown all too familiar

12:07

with. Growing up in Afghanistan.

12:11

However, the mother was not

12:13

aware of the abrupt chaos

12:15

that was to come Anyone

12:28

who remembers the fall of Kabbul

12:31

knows how dangerous it was to be

12:33

in that region of Afghanistan

12:35

in August. Twenty twenty one.

12:38

Following the February twenty twenty

12:40

deal between the US and

12:42

the Taliban, American attacks there

12:44

had been drastically reduced.

12:47

In April of twenty twenty one,

12:49

it was announced that the United

12:51

States military would fully

12:53

evacuate the country, honoring

12:55

the deal made in the previous

12:57

administration. And

12:59

urged civilians to leave as soon

13:01

as possible. The Taliban

13:04

began a major offensive the following

13:06

month, after a significant number

13:08

of US troops had withdrawn.

13:10

The Taliban taking control

13:12

of provinces one after

13:14

the other. Quickly in rapid

13:16

succession. With

13:18

only two US military units

13:20

remaining in Kabul, The

13:22

Taliban surrounded the capital city

13:24

by mid August. Chaos

13:27

erupted as Taliban fighters

13:29

ignored their commander's orders and

13:31

advanced into the city itself

13:33

as soldiers and police

13:35

surrendered. After

13:37

a twenty year military effort in

13:39

Afghanistan, The Taliban took

13:41

control of the capital city

13:43

essentially in a single day.

13:47

Civilians flooded the Kaboul Airport.

13:49

The only Safeway out of the country

13:51

since it was still under US

13:53

and NATO control. Desperate

13:56

to escape back to their new home,

13:58

Zarmina Sardar Khil and her children,

14:01

three year old Lena and her two year old

14:03

son, were among the thousands

14:06

of Africans that surrounded the Kabbel

14:08

Airport on August twenty

14:10

sixth twenty twenty one. If

14:12

the airport fell,

14:14

leaving would be extremely difficult.

14:16

Khil meters away

14:18

from Zarmina and her children, a

14:20

suicide bomber detonated the

14:22

explosives he carried on his

14:24

belt. The blast

14:26

killed one hundred and sixty nine

14:28

Afghan civilians, thirteen

14:31

US soldiers, and knocked

14:33

Little Lina to the ground. She

14:35

lost consciousness as her mother

14:37

and other relatives there began to

14:39

think the worst that she was another

14:42

casualty of the terror attack.

14:45

Their hope returned when the little

14:47

girl opened her eyes and began

14:49

responding. She

14:51

was okay. From

14:53

San Antonio, Riaz

14:55

arranged for his wife and children to be

14:57

taken back to his father in

14:59

law's home. To await safe transport

15:02

back to the United States. Like

15:05

their move to Texas two years

15:07

before, Zarmina and their children

15:09

stay in and departure from

15:11

Afghanistan had to be

15:13

kept secret for fear of

15:15

Taliban retribution. Eventually,

15:19

their exit was arranged and

15:21

carried out by US officials.

15:24

Immediately following the fall of

15:26

Kaboo, hundreds more

15:28

Afghan refugees poured into

15:30

San Antonio. The city

15:32

would later be the target of the Texas

15:35

attorney general for violating the

15:37

state's anti sanctuary city

15:39

laws. Four

15:41

months after the suicide bomber's blast

15:44

nearly took her life, little

15:46

Lina kill was stir crazy.

15:50

Because the previous week had been

15:52

rainy and had turned cold for

15:54

the weekend, the kids had been

15:56

stuck inside for many days.

16:00

Finally, on Monday, December twentieth

16:02

twenty twenty one, the sun shown

16:04

bright and there was seldom a cloud

16:06

in the sky. It

16:08

was still a little chilly out,

16:10

but at almost sixty degrees

16:12

and sunny. It was an ideal

16:14

winter day for frolicing children.

16:17

Early that afternoon, Riaz

16:20

returned home from work, and

16:22

Lina greeted her father by jumping

16:24

in his lap. She sweet

16:26

talked Khil into promising her more

16:28

makeup so she and her friends could

16:30

do their thing. If there

16:32

was ever a father, who was a sucker for

16:34

his little girl, it was

16:36

Riaz. Riaz's

16:38

work as the commercial truck driver was

16:40

going well. And he was

16:42

also very well compensated. Providing for

16:44

the family's needs was no longer

16:47

a problem at all. Riaz

16:50

mostly felt lucky to have

16:52

his family and his beloved

16:54

toddler daughter's brush with

16:56

death in Afghanistan only

16:59

exacerbated that feeling. Lena

17:02

was the man's baby, his

17:04

light, and he never wanted her anywhere close to

17:06

danger again. Zarmina

17:09

too was three months pregnant with

17:11

the couple's third Khil.

17:14

So this winter was an especially joyous

17:17

time for the Sardar kill family.

17:19

And there's another reason that

17:21

made it so. Following the

17:24

fall of Kabbu, Riaz's

17:26

brother and Zarmina's brothers

17:28

left Afghanistan and sought

17:30

asylum in America. Finally,

17:33

they had made their way to San Antonio,

17:35

and the family had a big

17:37

reunion dinner planned. It

17:39

would be the first, both Riaz

17:42

and Lina, would have with their brothers

17:44

in two years. That

17:46

afternoon, the children like their parents

17:48

were preparing for the evening's dinner

17:51

party by dressing in their best. Lena

17:53

and a fancy red dress and

17:55

black shoes. Riaz

17:58

left that afternoon to visit with a

18:01

friend who was in town from Austin, and

18:03

tired of being cooped

18:05

up, the kids proceeded to beg their

18:07

mother to let them play outside.

18:11

Sometime just before five

18:13

PM. Lina relented to her

18:15

children's please. Put their

18:17

jackets on them, both and

18:19

Lena and her little brother ran outside to

18:21

join the group of kids playing at

18:23

the playground. Sardar followed

18:26

behind them. The playground

18:28

was completely visible from the front door

18:30

of the Sardar Khil So

18:33

even though they'd run ahead of

18:35

their mother, she observed the

18:37

children all the way there. Next

18:40

to the playground was a small concrete

18:43

soccer court, and a large wooden canopy covering

18:45

a cooking area with three charcoal

18:47

grills elevated and set

18:49

in concrete. Though

18:51

the playground was fenced in, at

18:53

least one portion of the

18:55

fence was damaged and down, and

18:57

it appears it had been for

18:59

quite some time. As the

19:02

kids played, Lena ran back to

19:04

her mother so she could twist the cap

19:06

off a water bottle before the

19:08

child quickly headed back to

19:10

her playmates. Zarmina watched

19:12

as her daughter ran up and down some stairs

19:14

with other kids, and then ran

19:16

around the court and near a large

19:19

tree. For several minutes,

19:21

Zarmina kept close watch of

19:23

the toddler and her little brother,

19:25

until sometime after five,

19:27

when the little girl wondered off from her mother and

19:29

brother going in the direction of

19:31

the parking lot, though not anywhere

19:33

near it, not yet.

19:36

Zarmina took her eyes

19:38

off Lina for a few minutes as

19:41

she was distracted by her far

19:43

less coordinated and capable

19:45

two year old son. After

19:48

no more than five minutes passed,

19:50

Lina looked back at the playground,

19:52

her eyes sifting through

19:54

the many children. As she tried to get a look at

19:56

her daughter, then the soccer court followed

19:59

by the covered picnic area.

20:02

But she didn't see Lina

20:04

anywhere. Continuing

20:06

to scan, Zarmina expected to

20:08

see the girl come out from behind a

20:10

wall or a tree. Any

20:12

1 of the countless nooks, crannies, or

20:14

through one of the narrow breezways she'd

20:17

usually pop out from.

20:20

But as every second passed with no

20:22

sign of her daughter, time

20:24

seemed to get slower and slower

20:26

until it seemed to stop altogether.

20:29

The mother became inundated with

20:32

fear and panic. Zarmina

20:35

set out looking for Lena, but

20:37

she was nowhere to be

20:39

found outside. Thinking she might

20:41

have missed her daughter slipping past

20:43

her and making her way back to the

20:45

apartment, Zarmina searched

20:48

there. She found nothing. Though she

20:50

was in a panic, the woman

20:52

fought off thinking the worst and

20:54

tried to remain calm.

20:58

Surely, Zarmina thought. Lena

21:00

had accompanied a friend to their

21:02

apartment to use the restroom, get

21:04

a drink, or play with

21:06

a toy. While yelling for

21:08

her daughter, she knocked on the doors of

21:10

every neighbor she knew that had kids

21:13

expecting to see Lina at

21:15

each one. Zarmina grew

21:17

colder with fear at every

21:19

unit she tried. After

21:22

continuing to walk the grounds for

21:24

about thirty minutes, Zarmina called

21:26

on his cell phone. Lina, she

21:29

told the father, had disappeared.

21:33

Riaz rushed home and

21:35

within minutes found his wife in a

21:37

state of shock. He

21:39

began frantically searching the

21:41

Via's Del Cabo apartments and the neighboring

21:44

complex. Also refusing

21:46

to think the worst,

21:49

Riaz told himself that someone from the

21:51

Afghan or Muslim community had

21:53

invited Lina for a

21:55

visit, something that was

21:57

relatively commonplace. But

21:59

as time went on with no other

22:01

word from any other family,

22:03

Reas couldn't stop his mind from wandering.

22:06

The same horrifying sentence

22:08

repeated over and over in his

22:11

head. Lina has

22:13

been kidnapped. Overcome

22:15

with fear, but part of a

22:17

community that is very wary of law

22:20

enforcement at best, completely

22:23

distrustful at worst, Riazin's

22:26

phoned Loewang Mongol,

22:28

a local Afghan community leader.

22:31

Ryazin didn't know what to do.

22:33

He told Loewang, While he

22:35

fully understood the missing girl's

22:37

father's apprehension to do

22:39

so, LaWang told Riaz

22:41

there was no more time to

22:43

waste. He had to call the cops

22:46

immediately. More

22:58

than an hour after his daughter

23:00

vanished, at six fifty PM

23:02

on Monday, December twentieth,

23:04

twenty twenty 1 Sartar

23:06

Gill called the San Antonio police

23:08

and reported her missing.

23:10

At seven fifteen, an

23:13

officer arrived and an

23:15

investigation began. By

23:18

eight PM, the Via's Del

23:20

Cabo apartment complex was

23:23

swarming with police. The

23:26

sun was down, but the lit

23:28

city streets and the waning

23:30

givest moon provided at least

23:32

some light with which to search for

23:34

the missing girl. Three year old Lena

23:36

Lina Khil. From

23:38

the get go, the language barrier

23:40

between the Sartar kills

23:43

and authorities complicated the

23:45

case. Darmina and native

23:48

language is pashto, and

23:50

both spoke few words of

23:52

English. They relied on translators

23:55

Khil Luang Mongol to collect the

23:57

details Lina last known

24:00

location. Without a doubt, the

24:02

language barrier led to

24:04

conflicting accounts of the events

24:06

surrounding the three year old's disappearance.

24:08

Which made the investigation far

24:10

more difficult than it might have

24:12

otherwise been. San Antonio

24:15

police chief William McManus and his

24:17

men hit ground running. The

24:20

FBI provided them resources

24:23

immediately, including manpower.

24:25

Officers and agents searched every

24:27

last apartment at the complex,

24:30

at least once, and that

24:32

night and the next day

24:34

they combed nearby dumpsters,

24:37

ditches, fields, wooded

24:39

areas, and vacant buildings. Anywhere

24:42

a child might have wondered off to

24:44

to explore or been

24:46

placed as the result of a

24:48

much darker scenario. Officers

24:51

were stationed at the exits of

24:53

the apartments. Police didn't

24:55

want anyone coming in or going

24:58

out. Without knowing exactly what was in their vehicles,

25:01

chief McManus commented. An

25:03

All Points bulletin immediately

25:06

went out providing Lina Sardar

25:08

Kill's name and description.

25:11

She stands approximately four

25:13

feet tall and weighs around

25:15

fifty five pounds, the

25:17

description detailed. The

25:19

child's eyes are brown as is her

25:21

hair, which is straight,

25:23

shoulder length, and was in a ponytail

25:25

that day. Lina

25:27

was last seen wearing a red

25:29

dress, black jacket, and

25:32

black shoes. The department

25:34

also wasted no time taking

25:36

the social media. They

25:39

posted Lina photo, description,

25:41

and a brief synopsis. Of what

25:43

was known at the time to Twitter

25:45

and Instagram. also

25:48

began a series of posts to

25:50

their Facebook page that kept Lina's face

25:52

out there. By ten

25:55

thirty pm, even without

25:57

they usually strictly required

25:59

criteria of a vehicle

26:01

description, the Amber alert for

26:03

Lena went out to cross the Greater San

26:05

Antonio area. Although

26:07

police refused to say outright that they

26:10

believed Elena was abducted, the

26:12

release of the alert suggested that they

26:14

did indeed. And

26:16

suggested that they believed she was in

26:18

significant danger. The

26:21

ambarella soon went out

26:23

statewide. As seems to be the

26:25

case with virtually every amber alert.

26:28

However, many did not receive it

26:30

until sometime after it

26:32

was issued. Not until around

26:34

ten fifty PM, and many

26:36

others claimed they did not receive

26:38

it at all. Back

26:41

at the scene, cadaver dogs were

26:43

brought in to search the complex,

26:46

but picked up no scent, neither

26:48

on the grounds nor in

26:50

any apartment. A police

26:52

tracking dog was led around the fence line

26:54

of the Via's Del Cabo, which

26:56

was entirely gated. It

26:59

should be noted that several residents

27:02

discussed that the front entry gate had

27:04

been broken for some time.

27:06

And continued to be long after Lena

27:08

Lina vanished. The

27:11

tracking dog picked up the girl

27:13

sent briefly, but lost

27:16

it. At the parking lot. A

27:18

police helicopter searched the

27:20

surrounding area but

27:22

found nothing. Children don't

27:24

just vanish into thin air.

27:26

San Antonio, police special

27:28

victims unit detective, Hermann

27:30

Fuentes, later commented

27:33

referring to whether the circumstances of

27:35

the disappearance seemed suspicious.

27:38

He added, there are

27:40

suspicious circumstances based on the

27:42

child's age. And the fact that we have

27:44

not found any evidence to

27:46

indicate where she is. The

27:48

cops were able to

27:50

get surveillance video from at least one

27:53

unit at the complex. But at

27:55

the time, they said a little more

27:57

about it other than they were trying to piece

27:59

it together with the witness accounts. They

28:01

gathered. The day

28:04

after she went missing, a

28:06

visibly sleep deprived Riaz

28:07

Sardar Khil spoke to the

28:09

news through an interpreter. He

28:12

and Zarmina had never been

28:14

as saddened, Riaz

28:16

said. The father

28:18

said he and Zarmina had

28:20

been questioned for many hours by

28:22

San Antonio police detectives.

28:24

And expecting to speak with FBI

28:27

agents for many more. But

28:30

that was hardly

28:32

the worst the Sardar Khil Family

28:34

would go through. On the

28:36

next episode of Gone Cold,

28:38

we'll discuss not only the leads called

28:40

in and followed, but also the hate

28:43

and harassment. Lena's

28:45

parents were forced to endure during

28:47

the very worst time of their

28:50

lives. If

28:52

you have any information about the

28:54

disappearance of Lina Sardar, please

28:57

call the San Antonio police department's

29:00

missing persons unit at 2102077660.

29:06

Crime stoppers of

29:08

San Antonio at 2102247867

29:13

or the FBI's San

29:15

Antonio field office. At

29:18

2102256741.

29:24

If you have not already, Look

29:26

for Khil cold on Instagram,

29:28

Facebook, and Twitter by

29:30

searching gone cold and looking for the

29:32

Texas logo. If you'd like

29:34

to support the show and get the episodes ad free,

29:36

go to patreon dot com

29:38

forward slash gone cold podcast.

29:42

Thanks to all of you who support us

29:44

there. It's a huge

29:46

deal to us. If

29:48

you're not in a position to help God

29:50

called financially, but would like to

29:52

in some other way. Well, I've

29:54

got just the thing. Leaving

29:56

us a five star rating and written

29:58

review on iTunes Partic u

30:00

lily helps gone cold's visibility. The

30:03

more folks who find us and

30:05

listen, the greater chance someone with

30:07

information about a case, here's

30:09

the show. And comes forward with what

30:11

they know. Every little

30:13

bit helps and we appreciate your

30:15

support immensely. However,

30:17

you choose to give it. Sources

30:20

for this episode can be found in

30:22

the episode's show notes.

30:24

Thanks for listening y'all.

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