Circumstances of Disappearance
Hughes was last seen in the vicinity of Richmond Terrace and Park Avenue in Staten Island, New York at approximately 21.30 on July 15, 1981. Her mother sent her to purchase soap at a nearby deli at the time. She has never been seen again.
Andre Rand, a convicted New York murderer and child sex offender, was charged in 2001 with kidnapping Holly Ann. Authorities determined that Rand's aunt lived in the same Port Richmond apartment building where Hughes' family resided in 1981. He reportedly visited his aunt at the complex the day of Hughes' disappearance.
Rand is serving a 25-years-to-life sentence in the 1987 kidnapping of Jennifer Schweiger, a 12-year-old with Down's syndrome. He was also convicted in 1970 of raping a 9-year-old.
On October 19, 2004, a Staten Island jury convicted Andre Rand of first-degree kidnapping in connection with the abduction of Hughes.