A 15-year-old girl has been missing from Philadelphia's Tacony section since Sunday, August 30, when she was last seen at her home on the 6600 block of Torresdale Avenue by her guardian. Philadelphia police describe Angelica Jimenez-Medina as roughly 5 feet 6 inches tall and about 115 pounds, with a thin build, black hair, and black eyes. She was last seen wearing light blue jeans and a light blue zip-up hoodie.
According to the Newport Dispatch, police are urging anyone with information about Jimenez-Medina's whereabouts to contact Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3353. The 6600 block of Torresdale Avenue sits within Philadelphia's 15th Police District, which covers Tacony and parts of the lower Northeast section of the city, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. Missing juvenile cases originating in that district fall to the department's Northeast Detective Division, which is now leading the search for the teen.
How Philadelphia Police Handle Missing-Child Cases
Philadelphia police are seeking information in the missing-child case. Public information does not indicate a sign of foul play. According to the Philadelphia Police Department, its Missing Persons page provides information on active missing persons.
State law also leaves no room for delay. Under Pennsylvania Crimes Code Title 18 Section 2908, enacted through Act 1985-14, law enforcement agencies statewide are barred from imposing any mandatory waiting period before opening an investigation into a missing child under 18, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. That statute exists specifically to dispel the misconception that police wait a set number of hours before acting on a report involving a minor.
AMBER Alerts and the Case
AMBER Alerts are distinct from other missing-child notifications. Public police bulletins on Jimenez-Medina's disappearance don't indicate any suspected direction of travel or destination, and whether investigators suspect foul play or a voluntary departure remains an open question. According to the Pennsylvania State Police, an AMBER Alert provides descriptive information about abducted children and, if known, their abductors to enlist public support in the search.
A Pattern Across Philadelphia This Summer
Jimenez-Medina's case is one of several Hoodline has tracked involving missing Philadelphia teenagers in recent weeks. A 17-year-old went missing from the 26th Police District in late August, while cases involving teens in South Philadelphia and North Philadelphia have also surfaced within the same stretch of the summer.
National data suggests most of these disappearances end with the child found. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children assisted with 32,167 missing child cases in 2025 and resolved 90 percent of them, noting that endangered runaways made up 92 percent of all reports, according to MissingKids.org. Still, the scale of the problem is significant.
Federal resources have occasionally stepped in on the toughest cases. Locally, the 6600 block of Torresdale Avenue is in Philadelphia's 15th District. According to the Philadelphia Historical Commission, the Tacony Community Development Corporation nominated a historic district designated in 2021, reflecting the neighborhood's waterfront industrial history from 1872-1955.
Anyone with information about Angelica Jimenez-Medina's whereabouts is asked to contact Northeast Detectives.
