A Family “Disappears” — And Silence Follows

In early 2019, my sister Katie Riford and her two young children, Olivia Riford-Diarbakerly and Mason Riford went into hiding from their home in Wheatfield, New York — yet, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office remained silent.

For months, there were no public statements, no alerts, and no media coverage. It wasn’t until October 31, 2019 — more than seven months later — that the story finally surfaced in the press. This only happened after Katie’s sister, Christina Riford Little, contacted local news outlets directly. As a result, WIVB News 4 Buffalo published an article bringing the case into public view.

Where Was the FBI?

Even more troubling is the absence of action from federal authorities. Despite the disappearance of a mother and two children — and the growing concern from our family — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) never created or distributed a missing persons poster for Katie, Olivia, or Mason.

This failure raises an important question: Why not?

Was it dismissed due to external pressures? Or was there another reason the FBI chose not to act?

To try to find answers, we submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the FBI, asking for any and all missing person posters.

Here’s the two responses we received from the FBI. As you can read, the response states in part “we were unable to identify records subject to the FOIPA that are responsive to your request”.

Questions That Still Deserve Answers

To this day, the lack of transparency surrounding the case remains deeply disturbing. Why did it take media intervention to spark any public acknowledgment? Why did local law enforcement and federal agencies fail to act promptly? These aren’t just bureaucratic oversights.