Ashley Martinez

Additional Information

Ashley’s photo in her poster is shown age-progressed to 25 years. She was last seen on July 6, 2004. Ashley may still be in the local St. Joseph area, or she may have traveled to Nebraska or Washington. She may have been traveling in a gray 1995 Pontiac Bonneville with Missouri license plates 377MPY. Ashley’s tongue, navel and ears are pierced. She has a scar on her left arm. Ashley’s right photo is shown age-progressed to 25 years by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Written by Ashley’s Mom

Note: The name of the man who abducted Ashley has been changed in order not to interfere with law enforcement’s investigation into this crime.

Our daughter, Ashley Martinez, disappeared on July 6th, 2004. According to witnesses, a 32-year-old man named Charley picked up 15-year-old Ashley at our local public pool in St. Joseph, Missouri. He was driving his dad’s stolen gray 1995 Pontiac Bonneville, Missouri license plate # 377MPY. Charley had persuaded little Ashley to leave the state with him because he had a probation violation and he would be sent back to prison for 12 years if he was caught with her. Ashley was naive and innocent and left with Charley. We have not seen her since that awful day.

On September 5, 2004, Charley was arrested in Olympia, Washington. He was standing on a corner where homeless people hang out. Sadly Ashley was not with him. Since his capture, Charley has refused to talk with detectives. He refuses to discuss anything about our daughter. We have since discovered that Charley has a cousin in Olympia that he was staying with while he was missing. His cousin claims that Charley never even mentioned Ashley. Charley was extradited back to Jackson County, Missouri, on April 12, 2005. We have a strong feeling that our daughter may be in the in the local area or in Washington State. The gray Pontiac Bonneville has never been recovered and we believe it may a key to bringing Ashley home.

Ashley is a bright, beautiful young lady with a wonderful sense of humor. She brightens every ones life that she comes in contact with, she is truly a gift from God. There has never been a single day since Ashley was abducted that we don’t think and worry about her. We all miss her so much. We believe that Ashley was easily persuaded to leave because she thought that my husband and I were mean due to the fact we had rules for her. We made her go to school, gave her a curfew, and made sure she finished her homework. Unfortunately, she could never understand that we did this because we love her so much and wanted the best for her. We never wanted Ashley and our other two children to have to struggle or do without things because we know they deserve better in life.

Since Ashley has been gone, our family will never be the same. We have learned so much from this experience. We will never take things for granted. We now realize how precious everyday is with the ones you love. It is so easy to get caught up in everyday life with bills, jobs, or unexpected occurrences. You often overlook the most important people in your life. We have always tried to let Ashley know how much we love her, but obviously not enough. If we ever get that chance again we will not make that same mistake.

I’ve often thought of what I would say to her if she could hear me now. Ashley we all love and miss you so much. There is an emptiness inside of all of us that will never be whole again without you. As parents, we always thought how much you need us, but now we realize that we need you even more. We all make choices in life, some good and some bad. Those choices make us human, but no matter what choice is made a family sticks together. There is no stronger strength in life that the love of a family can’t conquer. Please contact us, I promise that we will all work through this together, and you will definitely know how much you are loved and missed.

This is our story, the story of a beautiful daughter named Ashley that has taught all of us a lesson. We hope and pray that our story has a happy ending. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you,

The Family Of Ashley Martinez

We love You Ashley, please come home!