Ava Grace Baldwin, born April 16, 2009, was six years old and living in San Antonio, Texas, when she was last confirmed seen on September 17, 2015, in the 6000 block of Whitby Road. Ava's elementary school contacted her father, David Hopper, after she had been absent from class for 21 days; Hopper, who lived in central Oklahoma, then reported her missing to the San Antonio Police Department. Officers went to the address Ava's mother had given the school and found an empty lot. Ava is believed to be in the company of her non-custodial mother, Kathryn Ann "Katie" Baldwin (born January 3, 1975; NamUs #MP33257), who shared joint custody until Hopper sought full custody shortly before the pair disappeared. Ava is described as a White female, 4'0" and about 60 pounds, with blonde hair and hazel eyes, and may be missing a tooth on the upper right side of her mouth. No clothing description from the day of disappearance has been publicly documented.
The case is investigated by the San Antonio Police Department as a non-custodial parent/family abduction; a felony warrant is on file for Kathryn Baldwin for interference with child custody. Kathryn has a documented history of alcohol and prescription-drug abuse and mental illness, has used numerous aliases, and may use the surname "Moore." Her family has ties to Texas, Oklahoma, California, Florida, and Illinois. In April 2016, Kathryn's silver 2014 Ford Escape was found abandoned in a parking lot on Whitby Road in San Antonio; it has since been accounted for. Reported possible sightings include contact from a Florida couple in 2016 to whom Kathryn allegedly tried to relinquish Ava, and a possible sighting of Kathryn in San Antonio as late as 2020. A 2022 social-media identification of Ava in a pair of TikTok videos was investigated and ruled out. The case remains unsolved.
