Nov. 15, 2005 –– A New York girl with roots on St. Thomas is missing. Her father, Jeffrey A. Hughes Sr., said his daughter, Sydnei Hughes, 16, is known to have boarded a Jet Blue Flight from New York's JFK Airport for Fort Lauderdale Nov. 12. He said she was in the company of Miriam Perez, 16. Miami may have been their ultimate destination.
While Hughes doesn't think his daughter and Perez will end up on St. Thomas, he said that the more people that know about her disappearance, the better the chances of finding her.
Sydnei, who is black, is five feet eight inches tall, weighs 130 pounds, has brown eyes and braided black hair.
Hughes, a New York City Police Department detective, said he was born and raised on St. Thomas and still has numerous relatives on the island.
He said he fears that Sydnei has fallen prey to a prostitution trafficking ring.
"It's very common in New York for predators to move in on young girls and boys who seem to be vulnerable," Hughes said.
He said that the youths are promised jobs where they could earn big money. He said the newest scam centers on the promise of a job with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to work on hurricane-related programs.
Hughes said that when the youths arrive, it's a different story. The predators get them hooked on drugs.
He said that Sydnei had been living with her mother in Queens, but visited frequently with him and his wife, the former Annette Donovan. She also hails from St. Thomas.
Hughes said that Sydnei's grades were terrible, she had not been going to school and was failing every class.
"God knows what she was doing with her time," he said.
He said marijuana was found in her bag.
Hughes said he knows that Sydnei ran away because her mother found a note to that effect around 5:30 p.m. Nov. 11.
Hughes said he called his daughter's cell phone at around 5 a.m. Saturday when something told him to call.
He said his daughter answered, but wouldn't tell him where she was. He said he thinks it was just before she boarded the Jet Blue flight for Miami.
Anyone with information about Sydnei's whereabouts is asked to please call Detective Brown at the 113th Precinct Detective Squad. The number is 718-712-2688. This is missing person case number 6060, UF61#9734. Or call the Crime Stoppers line at 1-800-577-TIPS. Crime stoppers offers a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the indictment of the person or people responsible.

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