Arianna Fitts, 2: Still Missing After Her Mother Was Found Murdered In 2016
Nicole Fitts, a single mom from the Bay Area of California, struggled to provide for her family. The 32-year-old was earning money working at Best Buy to get financially stable enough to care for herself and her two children, one of whom is two-year-old Arianna Fitts.
To help alleviate her pressures while she got back on her feet, Nicole reportedly gave Arianna over to her friend, Ciolo Hearne. Nicole hoped that Ciolo could care for the toddler under an unofficial foster care arrangement for a temporary, yet unspecified, amount of time. In turn, Ciolo gave Arianna up to her sister and her sister’s husband, Helena and Devin Martin, who lived in Oakland, California.
On April 1, 2016, Nicole was last seen just moments after her shift ended at work. Later on that same day, she texted back and forth with relatives, telling them that she was in Fresno, California. According to Nicole’s roommate, Nicole planned on picking up Arianna and bringing her back home the day she went missing. She was reportedly upset that she hadn’t seen her daughter and felt she was getting the runaround. The roommate stated that they told Nicole to contact the police to recover her child. For four days, her family couldn’t get in contact with Nicole, and on April 5, they officially reported her missing. Arianna could not be found, either, and Nicole’s family stated that the last time they had any contact with the two-year-old was six weeks prior.
“It doesn’t feel like reality, I feel like any day now my sister is going to call me,” said Contessa Fitts, Arianna’s aunt. “I am going to look at my phone, and she’s sent me a text message.”
Three days after she went missing, Nicole’s body was found in a shallow grave in McLaren Park. She had been covered with a piece of plywood that had a mysterious symbol spray-painted on it. Arianna has not been located and police have classified her as an endangered missing person.
Police said that Nicole’s friend Ciolo Hearne and the Martins, who were responsible for Arianna, have not only provided inconsistent statements but also refused to cooperate with the investigation. Helena Martin previously spent six years in prison after she killed the father of her child. However, investigators haven’t named any of the three as suspects in Nicole’s murder or Arianna’s disappearance as of this publication.
“I’d really hate to think someone Nicole trusted with her child, that someone Nicole trusted as a friend, would do anything to harm either Nicole or Arianna,” said Claire Bonnar, Arianna’s aunt.
Best Buy is offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to Arianna’s return and the arrest of Nicole’s killer.
At the time of her disappearance, Arianna Fitts was 2 feet tall and weighed 45 pounds. She has black/dark brown hair and brown eyes. Arianna would be five years old at the time of this publication.
Anyone with information regarding these cases is urged to contact the San Francisco Police Department at (650) 867-6780.
[via][via][via][via]
