Two teenagers who went missing in Arkansas were safely located on Saturday.
Officials canceled AMBER Alerts for 14-year-olds Trixie Studer and Sam Smith. They were last seen in Ratcliff, according to the alerts issued on Friday.
Studer was found in the company of Smith. He was reported missing from Wadesboro, North Carolina on Thursday. Officials said the two met online.
Studer was last seen at around 7:30 p.m. on Friday near her home in Ratcliff.
An unknown Black driver, who officials believe was Smith, was seen purchasing gas in Logan County for a silver Kia SUV with black wheels on Friday evening.
What is an AMBER Alert?
AMBER Alert is a nationwide alert system used to notify the public of missing children under the age of 18.
The alerts are broadcast across radio, TV, road signs, cellphones and other data-enabled devices.
As of last year, 1,200 children were found because of the AMBER Alert system and 180 children were rescued as a result of the emergency alerts.
The disappearance has to meet certain criteria for an alert to be issued. An abduction must have occurred, the child must be at risk of serious injury or death, and there has to be descriptive information about the child, the suspect or the suspect's vehicle.
"Every child featured in an AMBER Alert has been reported missing to law enforcement. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of a missing child," Alan S. Nanavaty, Executive Director of Special Programs for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, told Newsweek.
Nanavaty said on average, there are generally fewer than 200 AMBER Alerts issued each year. The AMBER Alert system is being used in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Indian country, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Active AMBER Alerts
There are currently two active AMBER Alerts for children in Tennessee and New Mexico.
Sebastian Rogers, 15, was last seen on February 26. He went missing from his mother and stepfather's home in Sumner County, Tennessee. He is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs around 120 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes, and he wears glasses. He was last seen wearing black sweatpants and a black sweatshirt.
Anyone with information about Rogers is being asked to call the Sumner County Emergency Communications Center at 615-451-3838 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
Kaelani Gonzales, 5, went missing on Tuesday. She was last seen in a black SUV with no plate with her grandmother Marianne Garnand. She was leaving Kirtland Elementary School in Albuquerque. She was wearing a pink sweater, black pants and white shoes.
Anyone with information should contact the New Mexico State Police at 505-841-9256.
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