What if she were your child?

"The internet is great! A wonderful tool! I don't know how I lived without it!"

These are all things that most of us feel about the internet. But like all things, it can be used to do evil. For all the good things it can do, it can also be put into the hands of those who only want to harm our loved ones.

And that is the case for my niece, Onna Hartman. I know you are all thinking "She's not really your niece. She is the kid of someone your brother married. She isn't even blood." I can understand this reasoning. But I also can love people even if they are not my relative. And if I love you, you might as well call me your sister. Because I love you just like family.

I have to say, I do love Onna. Even though I have only known of her for a year. And I only met her 18 days ago, she is now my niece through marriage. And she is a sweetheart. And she has made a mistake. A BIG mistake. She made a "friend" through the internet.

Onna has met this person, Solo man, through the internet. I am not sure by what means-be it a chat room, myspace, etc...but this is the only way she could have met a man from Washington. She has been texting this man for a while now. He gained her trust. He probably made her fall in love with him. And now she is missing.

We have no idea where Onna is today. She packed her bags Friday, June 17, 2009, and has not been seen since. It's like a "Without a Trace" episode. But this one doesn't have an ending yet. And I hope that ending doesn't end with "to be continued" meaning, it might not ever have an ending.

When you look at all those missing children online-some of them have been missing for over two decades. It's hard to imagine for those of us who have never had someone disappear. That someone you love may or may not be alive.

What I have been trying to do is make her a person to those who don't know who she is right now. I know exactly how you feel when you see those missing children photos. So many times they have been emailed to me, and I just hit delete and say a little prayer for them.

So I have been posting different photos of her, talking about her, and trying to make people realize that she is not just another face-a face that could've come off of a stock photo site. She is a little girl. A little girl who is so far away from home. She is probably scared, hungry, dirty and not sure if she will see tomorrow. Or she could be the unthinkable-hurt or even dead. But we have to stay positive. And hope that she will be okay.

Think about your own children. What would you want people to do if your child was missing? You would want the whole world to know. So, that is what I am asking of you.

HELP US LET THE WORLD KNOW that Onna is missing. And we want her to come home safe and secure.


All we can do is spread her photo across the US and ask people to look for her. And pray. So please help us.


Name: Onna Hartman
Age: 13
Missing since July 17, 2009
Last Seen in Hugo, CO
Her home is in Murfreesboro, TN
We think she is with a man who calls himself "Solo man". We have been told his real name is Franco. We were told by an unknown source that they met up with Franco in Utah and gave Onna to him. They may be headed to Washington State.

pobrien@ncmec.org
1-877-446-2632, ext 6449
FBI contact: brian.sazenbaker@ic.fbi.gov