00:00But we've been wanting to get in this missing segment, and I've got to say, this is an unusual one.
00:06Curtis, take us through it.
00:07Yeah, it really is.
00:09OP Nation, tonight, we need your help to solve a California kidnapping.
00:15On July 1st, 1980, Kevin Vermeule Jr. was just 17 days old when he was abducted from his family's home in Oceanside, California.
00:23The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the FBI, they're now re-energizing this case in hopes of finding some answers.
00:31Joining us now is Angeline Hartman.
00:33Angeline, this is a much different case than what you usually bring us.
00:37That's correct, Curtis, because we think OP Nation is exactly what we need here.
00:42We're talking about a military family that experienced this unthinkable crime, and most people have never even heard of this case before.
00:50It has been 45 years since Kevin Vermeule Jr. was abducted as an infant.
00:56We believe he is out there today with no idea about his real identity.
01:01Take a look at what our forensic artists put together using reference photos from family members.
01:06This is an image of what he might look like now.
01:09We know our age progression images work.
01:11The key is sharing this image, telling everyone you know, and that's how we're going to find him.
01:17What can you tell us about Kevin's abduction?
01:19Well, Kevin's dad was in the Marines.
01:22He was stationed at Camp Pendleton.
01:24He and his wife, who is from the Philippines, were living at an off-base military housing complex.
01:30Now, investigators believe the kidnapper was specifically looking for a newborn that was part Filipino.
01:37The woman was posing as a social worker, and what you're seeing now is a reenactment video that we created at NCMEC to help us tell this story.
01:45Basically, the woman told mom she needed to take the baby to her office.
01:51Along the way, the woman convinced mom to get out of the car, and that's when the woman abducted Kevin Jr.
01:58She stole him in broad daylight.
02:01She was never identified, and Kevin was never found.
02:04Do we know anything more about the kidnapper?
02:08Well, investigators say this woman appeared to be baby shopping because she had talked to dozens of families at that apartment complex over several days, and that's how they narrowed down what she was looking for specifically.
02:21Now, here at the National Center, we know that the kidnapper in a case like this is often a woman who is trying to somehow replace her own baby after a miscarriage, or she suddenly needs a baby after she's been lying to her partner about being pregnant.
02:37Witnesses said the woman was in her 20s and appeared to be pregnant.
02:40She had red or blonde frizzy hair, and she had a tattoo on her left hand between her thumb and index finger, and it was a circle with an X or maybe a cross inside that circle.
02:52OP Nation, we know you can help this family and find Kevin Verville Jr.
02:58Let's take another look at this age progression image of Kevin Verville Jr.
03:02This happened in Oceanside, California, but he could be anywhere today.
03:06If you have any information about this case, or if you're watching and think there's a chance you might be, Kevin, call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOSS.
03:16That's 1-800-843-5678.
03:23OP Nation, this is where we put you to work.
03:26Please spread the word about this case and share that age progression photo wherever you can.
03:31Can you imagine the idea that this time we're saying to someone, not just if you know anything about it, but if you think this is you?
03:38If this is you, let us know.
03:39If you just looked at that picture and you're like, oh my, I didn't even know that this had happened?
03:44That laid into life.
03:45Right?
03:45That your true identity and where you came from.
03:48Crazy.
03:48Yeah, it's wild.
03:49It's crazy.
03:49All right.
03:50All right.
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