The family of a 3-year-old girl with autism is asking the public for help after the child went missing.
Nova Echevarria was last seen inside her apartment building on near Linden Boulevard, in Canarsie.
Ring camera footage shows the girl in a blue outfit in the hallway when a woman picks her up and leaves the building.
The woman in the video is the child’s biological mother, 20-year-old Jayla Echevarria, who the family says does not have custody.
Court documents reviewed by News 12 show that the girl’s grandmother has full custody. She says she has raised her since she was a few months old.
“All I ask God is to bring my baby home,” Nova’s grandmother told News 12. “So she can play with her toys, take her bath.”
The family believes Jayla Echevarria may have taken the toddler to the Bronx or uptown Manhattan. They describe the mother as about 5 feet, 4 inches tall, 135 pounds, and often wearing a red, black, or blonde wig.
The family has been in touch with detectives but says they want more action, including an Amber Alert.
New York State law requires local law enforcement to contact the State Police Special Victims Unit and meet certain criteria for an alert to be issued.
Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.