A 4-year-old girl who went missing during a court-ordered visit with her mother in November 2021 has been safely recovered in a joint operation by the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and the Chicago Police Department, officials announced Monday.
Blessing Wasso was one year old when her mother, Erika Ephraim, also known as Ericka Wasso, visited her at a facility in Brighton Park on November 5, 2021, officials said. Blessing disappeared during the visit, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), which had legal custody of the child, reported both her and her mother missing.
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) issued an updated missing person bulletin for Blessing in May 2024 and a separate bulletin for her mother three weeks later. The bulletins indicated authorities suspected Ephraim had taken the girl to California or Texas…