MISSOURI CITY – Editor’s note: KPRC 2 is no longer identifying the child involved due to the nature of the victim possibly being human trafficked.
An Amber Alert issued for a 12-year-old girl reported missing in Missouri City has been canceled after she was found safe. Houston Police believed the young girl may be a victim of trafficking.
After 8 days of searching, missing girl was found unharmed, according to the Houston Police Department. She was located in Columbus, Texas according to police, over 70 miles from her home in Missouri City.
Sirterryon Preston, 27, of Houston, was arrested for having possession of the missing juvenile.
Follow the latest updates on there story here.
Previous story
The girl was last seen in the 7700 block of Waterchase Drive of Houston on Feb. 22 at 1:40 a.m.
HPD investigators say the young girl got into a dark-colored four-door Dodge pickup truck and hasn’t been seen since. She was last seen wearing a white crop top and pink joggers.
A neighbor’s surveillance video, shared with KPRC 2, shows the dark truck pull up in front of the sixth grader’s house around 1:40 a.m. before she appears to get in the backseat as the driver, appearing to wear a light hoodie, doesn’t turn around to acknowledge her.
Surveillance video then shows the truck turn around in the cul-de-sac of Waterchase Drive before leaving on Steeple Chase Road.
The girl’s family believes she could have possibly been kidnapped.
“I pray and hope that she’s not in no type of harm’s way,” her mother Shannon Williams told KPRC 2, adding that her daughter didn’t have access to rideshare apps and she doesn’t know if (she) may have been communicating with someone online.
According to her mother, she left with only the clothes she was wearing and an Android tablet. So far, they haven’t been able to track the tablet or get any information that may be on it.
Initially, police said that based on interviews they conducted, they were under the impression the girl may have left on her own.
But on Wednesday, an HPD spokesperson said detectives received additional information that leads them to believe she may be a victim of trafficking and that she could be in danger, prompting the Amber Alert. Several detectives are assigned to the case.
FBI Houston also confirms federal Crimes Against Children agents have been asked to assist.
On Thursday, Shannon spoke to KPRC 2 again and said she was filled with questions about her daughter’s disappearance.
“It’s a week and they saying trafficking..it needs to be a little bit faster pace because she’s still a baby,” Williams said.
The Houston Police Department also released new details Thursday, saying the girl, who was last seen a week ago, may have been using the social media app Tagged before her disappearance.
Williams said she didn’t know about the app and wonders where she might be.
“She’s 12. A baby who don’t understand the world and cannot take care of herself out in this crazy world,” Williams said.
In order for an Amber Alert to be issued, the child has to be under age 17, in immediate danger of sexual assault, injury or death, and believed to be the victim of a verified abduction. There also has to be enough information about the child, suspect, or vehicle to get help from the public before an alert can go out, according to the Texas Center for the Missing.
“It’s not one or the other criteria, it’s that they all have to be met to be able to issue an Amber Alert,” said Steve Benefield, emergency alert specialist for the Texas Center for the Missing. “We don’t want the Amber Alert to be like a car alarm going off in a parking lot where nobody pays any attention to it.”
He said HPD requested the regional Amber Alert for the girl around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, but it’s not clear what specific evidence led to the request.
Her family wishes the alert came sooner, as nearly a week has passed with still no sign of the young girl.
“No message, no inbox or anything. No phone call, and she’s only 12, so I know she’s scared,” Williams said.
The girl’s teachers from Missouri City Middle School who visited her family to offer support on Wednesday evening said her classmates grew extra concerned on Wednesday when the Amber Alert came across their phones as reality hit.
Fort Bend ISD, where she’s a student, issued the following statement:
“We are deeply concerned by the news that one of our students is missing. We urge the public to remain vigilant and report any relevant information to Houston police or to our Fort Bend ISD Police Department immediately. Our 24-hour dispatch number is 281-634-5500. Our fervent hope is that authorities find (her) safe and sound before another day goes by. Our prayer is that very soon she will return to all those who know and love her – including all her teachers and friends at Missouri City Middle School,” the statement read.