This week marks twenty-one years since two-year-old Kevin Sabir Barthrop was last seen near his home in Elizabeth. As a part of Union County’s ongoing Missing Persons Initiative, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo would like to urge members of the public to come forward with any information regarding Barthrop’s disappearance.
Union County Officials say on Saturday, June 12, 1999, Barthrop vanished after being seen close to his home on the 100 block of Chilton Street in Elizabeth.
Investigators believe individuals with information on Barthrop’s fate live in Essex County, Union County, and North Carolina.
“The UCPO Missing Persons Initiative was launched earlier this year in an effort to reunite Union County’s missing persons with their loved ones.
Through this initiative we call upon the community we serve to assist us in that reunification process. For people who love Kevin Barthrop and for the investigators who have never given up hope as they worked this case over decades, any leads generated from this initiative will assist us as we continue to search for answers,” said Prosecutor Ruotolo in a statement on Monday.
To aid in the ongoing investigation, a New Jersey State Police sketch artist produced an age progressed image of Kevin Barthrop as a 22-year-old.
This image was widely shared last June to mark the twentieth anniversary of Barthrop’s disappearance officials said.
The Union County Prosecutor’s Office extends thanks to the following agencies and organizations for their assistance in this investigation, including the FBI, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCCP), New Jersey State Police, University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Elizabeth Police Department, and the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Police Department.
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Kevin Sabir Barthrop is urged to contact Sgt. Michael Manochio at 908-966-2287 or Sgt. Janet Lopez at 908-347-8491 of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.