The Cambridge Police Department (CPD) continues steadfast in its search for Mitchel Iviquel, an Army veteran and local resident who went missing five years ago. The latest outreach effort to locate her came through a social media post by the department, marking yet another somber anniversary without a trace of her whereabouts.
Missing since March of 2020, Iviquel, a black female now 47 years old and 5’3, was not someone who'd regularly vanish for extended periods—rarely going more than two to three months without making contact with her family. When efforts to locate her fizzled, a family member approached a CPD patrol officer in Central Square to file a missing person report a year later in March of 2021. Iviquel was last seen at a family member's home in Somerville, and according to the CPD, her sudden and prolonged absence continues to worry her loved ones.
The investigation, handled by the CPD's Criminal Investigations Section, has been a difficult journey with little to no leads to follow. "It's very difficult, because we literally have zero leads," Superintendent Pauline Wells mentioned in a 2023 interview about the case. Iviquel, who is believed to have been unhoused in the Central Square area at the time she disappeared, also has unclaimed VA benefits and no active EBT card, making it more challenging for investigators to track any potential movements.
At the time of her disappearance, Iviquel was thought to be with a black male and his daughter, about 6 to 8 years old, who both were deaf. Leveraging her ability to communicate through sign language, Iviquel was believed to be traveling with them. However, to date, CPD has not been successful in identifying the father-daughter duo, hoping that someone might come forward with useful information. The Cambridge Police encourage anyone who has any information about Iviquel's current whereabouts or what may have happened to her to come forward by contacting their Criminal Investigations Unit Tip Line at (617) 349-3121.
