NCMEC Wins Top Ragan Award Reigniting Search for Kevin Verville Jr.
Some good news here at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children! We’re proud to share we have received the “Award of Distinction” for “Best Overall Video” – the top honor in Ragan’s 2025 Video, Visual & Virtual Awards for a powerful video that helped reignite the national search in an unsolved 45-year-old infant abduction case.
The winning piece, Stolen at 17 Days Old, Can a new image help find Kevin Verville, Jr?, brought renewed attention to the unsolved 1980 case and gave new hope to his family, still searching for him. Selected from a highly competitive field that included major global brands, the recognition highlights the impact of mission-driven storytelling focused on awareness, accuracy and action.
For decades, Kevin’s case had faded from public view. NCMEC’s Communications team set out to change that with a clear objective: restore visibility, mobilize the public and generate new leads.
NCMEC’s production team & actors on set (Credit: NCMEC)
“We’re incredibly honored to be recognized by Ragan, an industry leader in professional communications,” said Gavin Portnoy, vice president of Communications & Brand at NCMEC. “Our video focused on authenticity and purpose. We wanted viewers to see Kevin not as a statistic, but as a missing person with a loving family whose grief, after more than four decades, is still deeply real and raw.”
The campaign launched alongside NCMEC’s newly created age-progression image and a coordinated national call to action, in close partnership with the FBI. Through strategic distribution and public outreach, the campaign generated millions of views across social platforms, sparked significant public engagement and most importantly, led to new tips for investigators to pursue after decades without leads.
Ragan described the winning work as a testament to “creativity, precision and dedication to excellence,” recognizing how thoughtful storytelling can drive real-world impact, even with limited resources.
For the Verville family, this award represents a new opportunity to reintroduce Kevin to the public. Their decades old search is fueled by the belief that Kevin may still be out there, living with no idea about his true identity. That belief is why this work matters – and why sharing it matters.
Kevin Jr.’s sister, Angelica, (left) and mother, Angelina, (right) during interview with NCMEC (Credit: NCMEC)
If you haven’t watched Stolen at 17 Days Old, we encourage you to do so and share it widely. Someone, somewhere, may recognize a detail, a name or a story. Finding Kevin may depend on reaching the one person who hasn’t seen this yet and that’s where you come in. Awareness is how cold cases become visible again. Together, we can help bring answers to Kevin’s family.
Curious about all that went into this project? Check out our behind-the-scenes blog, highlighting what goes into a production like this!
Original blog published 06-10-2025
On July 1, 1980, Angelina Verville watched helplessly as a woman drove away with her 17-day-old son. She hasn’t seen him since.
For more than four decades, the Verville family has lived without their son and brother but never gave up hope that he was out there. Today, with new emphasis on the case and a new image of what Kevin Jr. might look like now, can you be the key to bringing Kevin Jr. home?
Before baby Kevin’s abduction, an unknown woman knocked on Angelina and Kevin Verville's door. The couple lived in the Sterling Homes apartment complex in Oceanside, California, off-base housing for military families stationed at Camp Pendleton. They had a newborn infant, Kevin Jr., who had just come home from the hospital.
This woman called herself “Sheila,” and said she was from an organization called “HELP,” whose mission was to assist young, low-income military families. She said she could help with things like diapers, formula and even assist financially. For the Vervilles, this seemed like a great opportunity. “Sheila” agreed to come back soon and said she would take them to the “HELP” offices to enroll baby Kevin in the program.
Kevin Verville, Jr. before the abduction (Credit: Verville Family)
Then, on July 1, 1980, “Sheila” returned to the Vervilles' apartment. Kevin Sr. had just returned home from the grocery store and was putting away the groceries, so they agreed that Angelina and baby Kevin would go with “Sheila” to the “HELP” offices.
That’s when Angelina and her infant son got into “Sheila’s” car, described as a gray or silver four-door sedan. “Sheila” said that they needed to stop and pick up another mother who was also enrolling her child in the program. When “Sheila” and Kevin Jr.’s mom arrived in a remote rural area in North San Diego County, “Sheila” pulled over and asked Angelina to knock on the door of a nearby house to get the other mother. But when Angelina got out, “Sheila” sped away with baby Kevin.
Kevin Verville, Sr. and Angelina Verville after the abduction (Credit: Oceanside Historical Society)
Angelina was left standing alone on the side of the road, with no one around to help.
In the days and months following baby Kevin’s abduction, the San Diego FBI office became involved in the case, extensively searching for Kevin Jr. and the unknown woman. It turns out, “Sheila” had spent several days in the Sterling Homes apartment complex leading up to Kevin Jr.’s abduction, speaking with dozens of residents. Investigators believe she was trying to find a baby that fit what she was looking for – apparently an infant under six months old and part Filipino.
Because there were so many residents that interacted with this woman, those witnesses were able to help put together a sketch of what the unknown woman looked like. From the Vervilles' accounts, along with other residents, investigators say they’re looking for a woman who was in her twenties back in 1980, with red or blond frizzy hair.
1980 Composite sketch of the female suspect (Credit: FBI)
She had a tattoo on her left hand in the webbing between her thumb and index finger. It was described as a circle with an ‘X’ inside. “Sheila” also appeared pregnant.
This is in line with what NCMEC has seen in other similar cases. From more than 60 years' worth of data, NCMEC has developed a profile of “typical” infant abductor: a woman of childbearing age, who appears pregnant, and may be trying to replace a baby lost through miscarriage.
Despite the initial search for Kevin Jr., there were few leads, and the case eventually went cold.
No one has been named, arrested or charged in connection with the disappearance of Kevin Jr.
“It’s very possible that Kevin Art Verville, Jr. is out there, alive, with no idea about his real identity and we need your help to bring him home,” said Angeline Hartmann, NCMEC’s director of communications. “Here at the Center, we’ve analyzed more than 300 infant abduction cases nationwide and we’ve seen that abductors often target infants when they’re looking for a child to raise as their own. It’s likely Kevin Jr. doesn’t know what happened to him and that his biological parents are still searching for him. Today, he could be anywhere so we’re asking everyone to be part of this search.”
NCMEC and the FBI held a press conference in Oceanside, CA on June 10, 2025 to release Kevin's new age progression image. Hear from Kevin's sister and father.
Recently, Kevin Jr.’s sister, Angelica Ramsey, who was born after Kevin Jr. was abducted, reached out to investigators for an update on her brother’s case.
“Although baby Kevin was abducted 45 years ago, FBI San Diego’s work to reunite him with his family has not ceased,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Houtan Moshrefi. “In 1980, FBI San Diego worked around the clock to locate kidnapped baby Kevin, and we remain committed today. We ask the public to please view baby Kevin’s age progression photo and submit tips to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.”
The FBI is continuing to honor a $10,000 reward for information that leads to locating Kevin Verville, Jr., as well as the arrest and conviction of those responsible for his abduction.
NCMEC has also released a new age-progression image to show what Kevin Jr. might look like today.
Age progression photo of Kevin Verville, Jr. (Credit: NCMEC)
If you have any information on Kevin Jr., his abduction or the unknown female suspect, please call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or the FBI at 1-800-225-5324, or visit tips.fbi gov.