Editor’s Note: Because the 12-year-old girl has been found, her name and image have been removed from this report to try to protect her privacy.
An AMBER Alert issued for a missing 12-year-old Waxahachie girl has been canceled after the Texas Department of Safety says the girl was found.
On Friday morning, officials with Homeland Security Investigations said they believed the girl could have been out of state. By mid-morning, the Texas DPS updated their status to say the girl had been found. During a news conference Friday afternoon, HSI said the missing girl was found in a hotel room in Southern Dallas, in a high-crime area, about an hour after Waxahachie Police received an anonymous tip by phone.
“I wanted to announce: We got her. We found Tanya, she’s safe,” said Mary Magness, Deputy Special Agent in Charge for HSI Dallas.
Investigators said the girl did not resist officers when they found her.
“When the officers knocked on the door, she opened the door, she was cooperative with law enforcement. There was no altercations or confrontations with her and they immediately took her into safety and escorted her out of that area back to the Dallas Police Department headquarters where we could make sure she was safe,” said John Perez, supervisory special agent over the HSI Dallas-led North Texas Trafficking Task Force.
HSI officials said the girl was found alone and that no arrests have been made in connection with the case.
They said they could not comment on why the girl left her house, or what happened in the hours she was missing.
Perez said they had also used the girl’s cell phone, left behind at home, to “generate investigative leads.”
Officials also said the investigation into her disappearance is ongoing and they cannot comment if it is being classified as a runaway or sex trafficking case.
Perez confirmed that his trafficking unit was still on the case.
“We’re continuing to work the investigative leads that we have that’s all I can say at this point just because it’s an ongoing case, and we don’t want to compromise anything we have,” he said.
He said the girl is receiving care and support from the Ellis County Child Advocacy Center.
AMBER ALERT ISSUED AFTER GIRL, 12, MISSING IN WAXAHACHIE
An AMBER Alert was issued Thursday morning for a 12-year-old girl from Waxahachie who was believed to be in grave danger.
“She was reported missing on the morning of Valentine’s Day,” Lt. Joshua Oliver with Waxahachie Police said. “Our investigators and members of Homeland Security Investigations of the North Texas Trafficking Task Force have been working diligently tracking down various leads from a cell phone [she] left behind.”
According to police, they followed leads from cell phone calls, messages, and social media accounts from across the country in their search for the girl.
“We have exhausted all possible leads,” Oliver said. “Our investigation has led us to believe that [her] well-being is in serious risk. And because of that information, we proceeded to follow the AMBER Alert on her behalf.”
However, this is not the first time the child is at the center of an AMBER Alert.
“I can confirm that an AMBER Alert was issued [on her behalf] back in July of 2023, where she was eventually returned home to safety,” Oliver said.
Investigators with HSI North Texas Trafficking Task Force could not provide more details about the case due to the girl’s age. However, they said there is no reason to believe anyone linked to her disappearance last summer is involved in the current investigation.
Still, they said the child is a high-risk case with her age being a major concern. John Perez is a Supervisory Special Agent with HSI and supervisor of the North Texas Trafficking Task Force. He said, that as the hours pass, the child could begin to approach people for basic needs.
“Shelter, food, water just to survive each day,” he said. “So, the longer she’s out by herself the more vulnerable she becomes to someone coming in trying to assist her, but actually really being there to exploit her.”
Officials said their hope in finding the girl and returning her home to her family lies in the fact that someone in the community may have seen her and will contact the Waxahachie Police Department or local law enforcement.
Police are asking anyone with information about the girl’s disappearance to call the Waxahachie Police Department at 469-309-4400.
Check back and refresh this page for the latest update. As developments unfold, elements of this story may change.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING RISKS
NBC 5 asked an expert why officers may have believed the girl might be in danger of being trafficked.
“Well, think about it: Somebody, a minor goes missing, you have to think about that. They don’t really have any resources to fall back on,” said Chad Frymire, board president of the North Texas Coalition Against Human Trafficking.
He said without resources like credit cards, cash, or a car, kids are vulnerable to being exploited by predators for work, services, or commercial sex.
“They start forming these relationships, giving them gifts again, being nice to them, maybe posing as a boyfriend or a girlfriend, and things like that,” Frymire explained.
“Younger kids might be more naive, easier to manipulate. But also, teenagers are also at high risk due to their desire for independence, experiment,” he added.
He said a traumatic past can also be a risk factor.
“If a child has experienced physical or sexual emotional abuse, they’re at a higher risk. And so, many times they’ll normalize that abusive relationship,” Frymire said.
He said many times, kids will get online and start talking to people they don’t know.
“Maybe they had a fight with mom or they’re having troubles at home. And these traffickers listen to them and commiserate with them and become a confidant. And that kind of begins the process of grooming them into a situation where they might be trafficked,” Frymire explained.
Another element: the family environment.
“If there’s violence and substance abuse, maybe neglect in the home, these kids might seek safety and shelter elsewhere,” he said.
TEXAS STATEWIDE ALERT PROGRAMS
There are eight kinds of alerts that can be issued for missing or endangered people in Texas. They are listed below with links to a page with more information.