HOUSTON – Editors note: Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we have removed the girl’s photo and any mention of her name in articles.
The family of a 12-year-old girl whose disappearance prompted an Amber Alert says she has been found alive.
The girl’s aunt tells KPRC 2′s Deven Clarke that she was found.
An Amber Alert was issued Tuesday the day after family members say the girl left her home in her mother’s SUV and went to a hotel on Little York in North Harris County.
KPRC 2′s Bill Barajas reached out to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, who confirmed they are currently speaking with a person of interest.
The Houston Police Department also confirmed the 12-year-old has been found and is back with her family.
The girl’s family says the man she met had rented a hotel room at a Crystal Inn and Suites on Little York and then after a short time, abducted her and took her to Louisiana in his 2015 black Tahoe.
The family said they found out the girl’s money card was used at a motel in Baton Rouge where the man is from. He eventually brought her back to Houston and dropped her off on Aldine Mail Route Road before heading back to Louisiana, where he was pulled over and taken into custody.
The family says they are upset with the way Houston Police handled this case, saying they were slow to act and that it wasn’t until after the man suspected of taking the girl was in custody that an Amber Alert was issued.
A family member, who asked not to be identified, sent KPRC 2 the following statement:
“HPD’s lack of concern for this child is unexpectable! She is a human, our future and was just another case to them! Their neglect caused her more terror. Who are we teaching our kids to trust? Not the city of Houston police that’s for sure.”
A spokesperson for HPD declined to respond with a formal statement, but did say that at the onset, there was confusion with jurisdiction because it started in Harris County where the Crystal Inn and Suites is. The family says the girl left her mother’s house in her mother’s SUV from the City of Houston, which is why HPD did end up taking the case.
HPD said they initially had the case as a runaway and then upon investigating realized an Amber Alert was needed. HPD adds they were able to locate the girl within 24 hours of the report being filed and worked with several different agencies to find her.