Lina Sardar Khil Survived an Afghan Suicide Bombing. Then she disappeared in Texas.
Lina Sardar Khil was three years old when she narrowly escaped a terrorist attack during Afghanistan’s fall. She went out to play while living in San Antonio and has not been seen since.

Details of Disappearance

Lina Sardar Khil from San Antonio, Texas, went missing on December 20, 2021, at her apartment complex. Her mother had left her unattended at the playground for an unspecified period of time.

According to the police chief, her parents reported her missing at 7:15 p.m., about two hours later.

Lina’s family initially believed she had left the playground with another Afghan family, but they now believe she has been abducted. She was last seen wearing a red dress, a black jacket, and black shoes.

Lina’s family is from Paktia province, one of Afghanistan’s most remote provinces. They moved to the United States in 2019 to escape threats, according to Lina’s father, Riaz Sardar Khil.

Since this story broke, many conspiracy theories have circulated. Lina could have been sold as a bride to another immigrant family. She could have been trafficked to the border. Perhaps the Taliban kidnapped her as a form of retaliation. Perhaps this was a ruse to raise funds through Go Fund Me.

How old is Lina really?

Despite having a listed age of 3, Lina appears to be around 5 or 6 years old in her photographs. The lack of birth certificates in isolated villages and the practise of some immigrants to register their children as being younger than their actual age may be the causes of this discrepancy.

Debating Lina’s actual age is not that significant because her pictures are widely available. She is still easily recognizable in the photos.

What happened at the playground?

Lina is recorded on video at the park until 4:49pm, then more video begins at 5:07, and she has already left.

The FBI is attempting to narrow down the 18-minute gap in the footage gathered from the apartment complex the afternoon she went missing.

Lina can only communicate in Pashto. There would have been some resistance or noise if she had been taken against her will. However, no one noticed anything. So, was it someone from the family who she already trusted?

Why did her mother abandon her alone?

Everyone has this question on their mind. Who leaves a 3-year-old unsupervised in a park for nearly 20 minutes?

It’s unclear if other families with kids were also in the park at the time. Was Lina engaging in play? That information hasn’t been made public by the police. Lina’s mother might have felt at ease leaving her there for a short while if there were other families or friends present.

Additionally, if they regularly went to the park to play, it’s possible that her mother eventually relaxed her guard.

Why did the Amber alert get discontinued?

A creek in the Medical Center near Babcock and Huebner was searched on January 5th by an 11-person FBI Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team for any indication of Lina. They ended the dive effort without coming to any definitive conclusions.

The Lina Khil Amber Alert was cancelled on January 7. Amber Alerts are just one of the resources used by the police to look for missing persons, according to the police, and their discontinuation does not indicate that their investigation is over.

A team of volunteers from a nearby nonprofit are still looking for Lina. They keep looking for Lina in their ongoing search.

“They came here after fleeing hell in Afghanistan, only to have their child taken. Only they are aware of the excruciating pain they are experiencing. Hoping this family will get closure soon”

If you have information on Lina’s case please contact the department’s Missing Persons Unit at 210–207–7660 or Crime Stoppers at 210–224–7867.