TAMPA BAY: Could girl in Illinois be Sabrina?

The child with the mysterious beginnings, once abandoned in a dusty Texas border town, now lived happily with guardians in Illinois. The site called her Paloma Unknown.

The photo, though, reminded Kuieck of a famous missing child from Tampa: Sabrina Aisenberg, who vanished from her crib in 1997.

Nagged by the possibilities, she called Sabrina's parents, who were once accused in her disappearance and now live in Bethesda, Md.

"I don't want to create false hopes," Kuieck told Steve Aisenberg. "But I think I might have seen your daughter."

Kuieck's call has prompted police in Illinois to ask a judge to grant permission to take blood or saliva samples from the girl to compare to Sabrina's DNA. They acknowledge that the chances of a match are slim.

Still, the key to unlocking two mysteries could lie in the DNA of a girl from nowhere.

In 1998, a Mexican woman with a baby in her arms made her way across the border near McAllen, Texas. She couldn't look after the girl anymore, she told Molly Garza, a Spanish woman that authorities think was working in the textile industry.

Please, take her, the mother said.

Reluctantly, Garza accepted the child, according to what authorities were told. But soon after, Garza had to return to Spain. She told a friend of hers, a registered nurse in Texas, that the child needed a home.

The nurse had a relative in Illinois, Sylvia Washko, who had not been able to have a child, according to authorities in Illinois. The girl needed parents and Washko and her husband wanted a child. It seemed like a good match.

Paloma, which means dove in Spanish, arrived in Pontiac, Ill., in May 1998, Sylvia Washko said.

"She was beautiful," Washko said Thursday. "We loved her instantly."

The year before, in November 1997, Marlene Aisenberg made a frantic call from their Valrico home to a 911 operator screaming that her baby was gone from her crib. Over the next few weeks, authorities conducted one of the largest searches in Florida history. Sabrina, 5 months old when she vanished, was never found.

As the investigation went on, authorities began to suspect the Aisenbergs and placed two listening devices in the couple's home. In the meantime, the Aisenbergs told their story on Good Morning America, Larry King Live and Oprah.

In Sept. 1999, a grand jury indicted the couple on federal charges of conspiracy and making false statements. The indictment indicated that Steve had killed Sabrina or the couple had sold her on the black market.

But two years later, after heated legal jousting, the case crumbled. A federal magistrate judge questioned the government's evidence and chastised law enforcement for the way it went about collecting it.

Back in Illinois, Paloma thrived, a healthy and spirited young girl with dark hair and an easy smile. Sylvia and her husband Ronald tried to adopt her, but a judge refused, saying he couldn't do it without a birth certificate, or knowing more about her background.

Their lawyer, Walwyn Trezise, said his clients have done nothing but raise an "abandoned little baby" into a "smart girl with tremendous potential."

Over the years, several agencies, including the Texas Rangers, investigated where Paloma came from to no avail. Authorities posted Paloma's picture on the Web site in hope of gathering information about her parentage.

Kuieck, a mother of six who lives near Grand Rapids, Mich., often searches missing children Web sites.

"Mom, you surfing for missing kids again?" her own children often tease.

Twenty-two years ago, while in junior high school in Michigan, Kuieck's friend Deanie Peters-Pyle vanished, never to be heard from again.

"I guess that is part of the motivation," said Kuieck, a longtime watcher of America's Most Wanted, Unsolved Mysteries and cop dramas like CSI.

She follows many high-profile missing persons cases, sometimes keeping her own files of clippings. About every other day, she scans dozens of pictures on several sites, including www.missingchildren.com

In March, when she saw Paloma's picture, she quickly thought of the Aisenberg case. A private person, Kuieck hesitated to call. She asked friends and relatives to compare the pictures of Sabrina and Paloma. They agreed that there were similarities.

Kuieck called the police in Pontiac to ask about Paloma's case. She heard the story about the trek from Mexico. Still, she put off calling the Aisenbergs.

"Then, it just began to eat at me," she said.

Steve Aisenberg had received similar calls before. He always listened, not wanting to blow off what might be the tip that brings Sabrina home. During the 30-minute conversation, he accessed the Web page on his computer.

Soon his wife was looking over his shoulder. Paloma seemed to have Steve's cheeks and mouth and eyes, they agreed. Steve thought the story sounded plausible. Maybe the person who took Sabrina, he said, got scared about all the publicity surrounding the case and just got rid of her.

After Kuieck's call, they knew to temper their excitement, Steve Aisenberg said.

"Any lead is a good lead," he said. "But most don't work out."

The judge has not granted the DNA request, said Maj. Dale Newsome of the Pontiac Police Department, although he didn't think it would be a problem.

Newsome said the Washkos had done nothing illegal as far as his investigation revealed. They continue to have guardianship of Paloma, who is now about 6 and going to school, although her exact birth date is not known.

When contacted Thursday, Sylvia Washko had not heard anything about DNA testing. She had heard about Paloma's possible connection to the Aisenberg case, but said she doesn't see much resemblance between the girls.

Even so, Washko said she would not fight the testing. She'd like to know where Paloma came from, as well.

"We want to know the truth too," she said. "This has been a mystery for a long time."

- Times' news researcher John Martin contributed to this story. Graham Brink can be reached at (813) 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com

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