DNA tests match ‘Estrellita’ to missing Dallas girl

BROWNSVILLE — Half of a missing persons mystery was solved Tuesday when Dallas police announced that a little girl called Estrellita is 9-month-old Dafne Morales.

Relatives reported Dafne and her mother, Norma Morales, missing from the Dallas area on Feb. 24.

The infant was found on the doorsteps of a Matamoros home early on Feb. 25, with a baby carriage, blanket, baby food and juice. She was suffering from a cold at the time.

DNA tests have confirmed the child, who had been in the care of Mexican social workers, is the missing infant. The girl will likely be turned over to relatives in Mexico.

Morales, 32, remains missing, said Gil Cerda, a spokesman with the Dallas police. Authorities have few clues about her fate, but police are not ruling out foul play in the investigation.

“(She) is a very responsible individual,” Cerda said. “She would not just leave her daughter.”

Morales was an undocumented immigrant, working in Dallas, according to police.

Her parents, Nicolas Morales and Gloria Iniguez, live in Pachuca, in the state of Hidalgo, near Mexico City. In mid-March they visited Matamoros and spoke to agents with La Agencia Segunda del Ministerio Publico, Tamaulipas’ state police, and told them about the last time they spoke to their daughter.

On Tuesday, they were happy to hear their grandchild has been found but had not heard from Mexican officials about the DNA results.

“I’m very glad,” Nicolas Morales said. “We will wait to hear from them.”

Dafne has been in the care of the Desarrollo Integral de La Familia, or DIF, Mexico’s child protective services agency since March 7.

She remained at La Casa Hogar Del Niño Matamorense on Tuesday, according to DIF officials.

In a previous interview, Carla Perez, a spokeswoman with DIF Matamoros, said the child is “in good hands. We have doctors, psychologists — she will remain under our care until the investigation is concluded.”

Calls to Perez on Tuesday for comment were not returned by press time.