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a photo of Hannah, taken by her brother, the day before her disappearance Born May 10th, 1988 Missing May 21st, 1999 - July 6th, 2015
SOLVED
Hannah Emma Hartley is an American kidnapping survivor, author, and child safety activist.
Hannah was born and raised in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, the younger of two children. Hannah's mother, Alessandra, was a Mexican immigrant and Hannah, as well as her older brother, Johnny (born 1986), grew up speaking fluent Spanish. Neighbors described Hannah as a well behaved child and helpful, always teaching younger kids Spanish if she had the time.
On May 21st, 1999, Hannah was walking to school. This was what she usually did, as her home was only a seven minute walk from her school. She and Johnny always walked together, but Johnny had faked sick that day, not wanting to go to school.
"I always regretted that," Johnny said in a 2017 interview. "If I had just went with her, maybe I could have protected her. If I just hadn't faked sick, she would have never been touched by them. The guilt ate away at me for sixteen years, it still kinda does, but at the very least it's nice to know Hannah doesn't blame me."
Hanah never arrived at school and they called her parents, who said that she should be on her way there, but Hannah never arrived and she never arrived home. The police were called around eight am, Alessandra saying her daughter was missing. One man came forward saying he'd seen a gray honda civic force Hannah into the car, but he didn't get the license plate. This lead would unfortunately go cold.
Over the years, several leads were followed by police, but all went cold. In 2013, the Hartley family considered having Hannah declared dead in absentia. Daniel Hartley, the Hartley father, says that when they were discussing this, a now twenty-eight year old slammed his fists on the table and said "We haven't found her body! Therefore, she's alive!" So, she remained a missing person.
Then, on July 6th, 2015, a woman named Annie Edwards was walking through a neighborhood in Shreveport, Louisiana, when she saw a little girl, around seven, playing outside. Annie approached the girl, asking if her parents were inside and the little girl nodded, saying yes. She began talking to the woman, going on and on about how she didn't get to go outside unsupervised very often, how her daddy was probably inside doing things with mommy. The girl went on and on about how daddy didn't feed her for a few days, just talking on and on, and Annie then asked the little girl to come with her to her home. The girl would not name herself, saying daddy wouldn't let her.
The woman called the police, saying she believed she was dealing with a victim of possible child abuse, and the little girl proceeded to drop the bomb that she has two older sisters. The girl kept going on and on about how she and mommy and her sisters lived in a shed most of the time. Police eventually arrived to the residence, where a man, Ryan Mansee, opened the door. He said he knew the girl, that she was his daughter, but he denied her having any sisters and claimed that their mother didn't live with them. He said that he was from an ex-girlfriend and he and his wife, Lauren, were taking care of her. Police asked to be allowed to search the home and the man obliged, letting the police inside, who found nothing in the home, aside from a woman and her two other girls in the kitchen. The woman, and the two girls, were pale and almost a little sickly looking, according to the police report. But they said they were friends of the Mansees who were visiting them. When asked about the little girl, all the woman, who identified herself as Lindy, said was that she was Ryan's daughter. Police then left the home.
