Missing US girl found alive after 24 years

Aleacia Stancil went missing when she was nine months old from Phoenix, Arizona.

Now, over two decades later, she's reportedly been found in Connecticut.

Baby Aleacia went missing in December 1994 after her mum Toni Stancil went for a walk to "clear her head", leaving her daughter in the care of a friend.

However, she took two days to return, by which point her daughter had been handed from friend, to friend to friend, till someone eventually handed her over to Police, who had no idea who the baby was.

Toni, who soon after the incident ended up in jail, didn't report her daughter as missing till March 1995, according to website AZFamily.

Given the time difference between Aleacia's disappearance and being reported, Police didn't connect the two and the baby stayed in the system of Child Protection Services.

Later that year, Toni was murdered, leaving the trail of her missing daughter running cold.

"Without that one and only witness, I’m very limited in how to proceed with the investigation," Phoenix police Detective William Andersen said, according to the publication.

"Even after 20-plus years, happy outcomes can come," Phoenix police Sgt. Armando Carbajal told local news station KTAR.

"This was obviously an outstanding example of how Phoenix Police detectives and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children work together, and that no case is ever put on the shelf," he added, noting the age progression images were created in 2008, when the case was re-opened again.

However remarklable Aleacia's tale is, it seems it's one the 24-year-old isn't ready to share it just yet.

"She doesn’t want it to interfere with her life, but she has indicated that she’s happy that she was able to find out who she was," Carbajal said.

Aleacia was adopted at a young age and her name was changed.

Since finding out her real identity Aleacia has met her grandmother Frances Ford, who told AZFamily they've met but her granddaughter's life has been "complicated and confusing" and hopes one day the pair will have a relationship.