Who is Lina Sardar Khil? San Antonio Police launches search for Afghan refugee missing since 2021

Following a tip related to Lina Sardar Khil, who vanished in 2021 at the age of three, San Antonio Police and the FBI launched a search in a forested area on the Northwest Side.

Lina was seen in the Villas del Cabo apartments in the 9400 block of Fredericksburg Road on December 20, 2021. (X@@901Lulu)

“This is not the first time we have been out here doing these kind of searches,” said San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) officer Ricardo Guzman. “In today’s case, it is a public space and residents called in, concerned why police were here.”

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The search was conducted in the area behind the Helix Apartments at Wurzbach and Bluemel, which is closer to a place from where Lina vanished.

Responding law enforcement officials said they received similar tips earlier that have led these kinds of searches. Guzman stated that they received a tip suggesting that evidence regarding Lina could be found behind apartment buildings close to Wurzbach Road and Interstate 10.

Authorities are looking for a body, said Pamela Allen, a family liaison and child advocate in the area, who spoke with KSAT.

Allen and Riaz Sardar Khil, Lina’s father, were present at the site on Thursday. Before 1 pm, an interpreter who was traveling with them informed reporters that there was no update.

Lina’s family is ‘saddened’

On Wednesday, Allen posted about a meeting on Facebook about a meeting with SAPD and FBI on Wednesday night.

“Today was a long, informative meeting with SAPD and FBI. The meeting encompassed information on behalf of the missing young girl from Afghanistan, Lina Sardar Khil who was abducted here in San Antonio. It was intense and still heart wrenching. Bottom line, we are not any closer to Lina’s discovery. As I sat next to Riaz, his frustration could be felt. There are just so many emotions that go through this families’ hearts. Unbelievable how one family could possess the courage that they have walking into each day without their child,” she wrote.

Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Allen said Lina’s father is “very frustrated.”

“The family is very saddened by the fact that she has been missing for two years,” she added.

Who is Lina Sardar Khil?

Lina, the young Afghan refugee, remains an active missing persons case with SAPD. The police is not treating her disappearance as an abduction.

Lina was last seen in the Villas del Cabo apartments in the 9400 block of Fredericksburg Road on December 20, 2021.

In December 2022, police unveiled fresh video of Khil at the playground on the day she vanished.

Last December, Lina’s family unveiled a revised sketch of the girl’s potential current appearance during a celebration of her fifth birthday. Her father expressed his hope that more tips will come in.

In 2023, Riaz Khil attempted to clear his record by taking a polygraph exam.

Guzman said on Thursday that they have carried out numerous searches in response to tips, but he did not specify how many. He explained that not every tip is made public since it would jeopardize the probe and give the family false hope.

“This is still a family matter. This is still personal to them. So no, we’re not broadcasting every single thing that we receive,” Guzman stated. “Again, in this case, it’s just a public area, and that’s what we’re out here right now.”