Sheriff's Office Seeks Public Help Finding Missing Helena Girl, 12

The Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office released video footage of 12-year-old Maria Vaca on Friday and urged residents across the Helena area to help locate the missing girl as a coordinated search effort got underway.

A deputy sheriff posted the footage to a rescue watch platform, directing the public to assist in finding Vaca, who disappeared from Helena, Lewis and Clark County's seat and Montana's state capital. Sheriff Leo C. Dutton's office is leading the investigation, with Undersheriff Brent Colbert also involved in coordinating the response.

Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue, an all-volunteer, full-service team that operates as an auxiliary to the Sheriff's Office, is positioned to support ground-level operations. LCCSAR, based in Helena, also provides mutual aid to neighboring Montana counties, giving the effort additional capacity if the search expands beyond county lines.

The Sheriff's Office Patrol Division covers a wide stretch of terrain: the greater Helena Valley, Lincoln, Augusta, Wolf Creek, and Craig. Anyone who believes they have spotted Vaca in any of those areas is asked to call the Sheriff's Office non-emergency line at 406-447-8235. The office is located at 406 Fuller Ave. in Helena.

Vaca's disappearance is the third missing youth case tied to Lewis and Clark County since January. The Sheriff's Office issued an alert in early January for 13-year-old Dashaun Jay Leon Lilley, who was last contacted January 12 and was added to the Montana Missing Persons Database. Later that month, 14-year-old Andrew Nicholas Molano ran away from home and was last seen at Capital High School on January 22.

Montana's response framework for missing children includes the statewide Missing Persons Database, established under the Missing Children Act of 1985. In October 2021, Attorney General Austin Knudsen launched an enhanced, publicly searchable version of the database. The Montana Department of Justice also coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on cases that cross state lines.

Anyone with information on Maria Vaca's whereabouts is asked to contact the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office at 406-447-8235.