Amber Alert discontinued after 12-year-old Waxahachie girl found safe in South Dallas

An Amber Alert was discontinued Friday after a 12-year-old Waxahachie girl was found safe in South Dallas, authorities said.

Waxahachie police on Wednesday asked for the public’s help in locating the girl, who was last seen earlier that day on Brenna Road. Authorities said she may have run away from home.

An Amber Alert was issued for the girl early Thursday, and authorities said she was believed to be in grave or immediate danger.

Officials with Waxahachie police and Homeland Security Investigations said in a news conference Friday that she had been located.

“We got her, we found Tanya,” said Mary Magness, deputy special agent in charge of HSI Dallas. “She’s safe.”

With the help of an anonymous tip, authorities found her in a South Dallas hotel room,” said John Perez, the supervisory special agent of the North Texas Trafficking Task Force. Perez said that HSI Dallas Task Force officers along with the Dallas Police Department conducted a canvass of the hotel where they found her.

“As of right now, Tanya is safe,” Perez said. “She is being provided service by the Ellis County Children’s Advocacy Center as well as HSI Dallas-partner nongovernment organizations and victim-service providers.”

No arrests have been made in connection with her rescue, Perez said, and authorities are still investigating leads in the case. Perez said the tip came in about 9:30 a.m., and she was recovered within about an hour.

She was found in the room alone, Perez said. When officers knocked on the door, she opened the door and was cooperative with law enforcement.

Officials could not say if they’re investigating her disappearance as a runaway case or a child trafficking case. They did confirm that the child was the subject of a previous Amber Alert in July last year.

“We were working nonstop in the last 48 hours to ensure that we got to this positive result, not only for Tanya but for her family, and to show the community that HSI Dallas stands ready to help anyone, everyone,” Perez said.

No additional information about the case was immediately available.

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