I received a text early this morning: she was picked up on a street in Queens late last night.
A 13-year-old girl who was last seen at her Queens home last week has been found.
Gabriella Maldonado was found on March 4. Prior to being reported missing, Maldonado was last seen at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 29 at her home in Richmond Hill.
Police confirmed that after she was found, Maldonado was taken to Elmhurst General Hospital for evaluation.
She defied the odds. Experts will tell you that the window for successfully finding a lost child closes after 72 hours. That she was found after five days is miraculous. I know the countless prayers, rosaries, chaplets and Masses that were said on her behalf — from strangers and concerned Catholics around the world — had an impact. Prayer is a powerful weapon.
Thank you. And thank God.
Whisper up a prayer of gratitude this day — and please continue to hold Gabby and her family in prayer.
Remember, too, all the other missing children in our world, whose parents still pray and hope and who are still waiting to be reunited.
