1990s | Missing Persons | New York Mysteries | New York’s Unsolved
Disappeared Girl Called Mom Saying She Missed the Bus To School
A call about missing the bus marks the last time Monique’s mom ever heard from her daughter.
Monique “Pebbles” Santiago was born on September 11, 1978, to her mother Annie Graniela (before her marriage to Monique’s stepfather). There is no information on her biological father, though she has one older sister named Lisa. Initially, the family hailed from the Bronx in New York City, eventually moving upstate to Albany in July of 1988. By 1990, Annie had a boyfriend named Jose Castro who was incarcerated at the time of his stepdaughter’s disappearance. The two later married sometime after Monique vanished.
A Hispanic girl with long black, curly hair, Monique stood at 4'9" tall and weighed around 90 lbs at the time of her disappearance.
On a typical morning on Thursday, March 29, 1990, 11-year-old Monique got up and ready for school, dressing in a turquoise top, blue jeans, and black shoes while Annie got ready for work. As mentioned above, Jose was incarcerated so it was just Annie and her daughters living in their home on 336 Washington Ave. It remains unclear whether Annie left for work…
