AMBER Alert launched in Texas for missing children

Three children in Texas are the subject of an AMBER Alert issued from Austin on Monday.

Authorities are searching for 10-year-old Ninel Anseume, 2-year-old Elsi Anseume and 4-year-old Abraham Anseume. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, they were last seen in the 100 block of Palma Circle in Austin on Sunday around 5 p.m.

The suspect is 31-year-old Sherles Machado Hernandez. He is considered armed and dangerous, according to AMBER Alert. He is said to be 5 feet 9 inches tall and weigh 160 pounds.

The suspect’s vehicle is described as a silver 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander with Texas license plate TWL2922.

All children should have brown hair and brown eyes and be of Hispanic descent. Ninel is 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 80 pounds. Abraham is 3 feet 4 inches and 44 pounds and Elsi is 2 feet 8 inches and 31 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Austin Police Department at 512-974-5210.

What is an AMBER alarm?

AMBER Alert is a nationwide notification system that alerts the public to missing children under the age of 18.

The warnings are shared via radio, television, road signs, cell phones and other data-enabled devices.

Last year, 1,200 children were found thanks to the AMBER alert system and 180 children were rescued as a result of emergency alerts.

For an alert to be issued, an abduction must have occurred, the child must be at risk of serious injury or death, and there must be descriptive information about the child, the suspect, or the suspect’s vehicle.

“Every child mentioned in an AMBER Alert has been reported missing to law enforcement. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to immediately engage 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, in an email Newsweek.

Nanavaty said on average, fewer than 200 AMBER alerts are issued each year. The warnings are transmitted via radio, television, traffic signs, cell phones and other data-enabled devices. The AMBER Alert system is used in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Indian Country, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also uses poster integration and social media sharing opportunities to promote AMBER Alerts to the public, Nanavaty said.

Newsweek created a map using 2022 data that shows states saw the most AMBER alerts in 2022. According to the data, there were 31 Amber Alerts in Texas in 2022.

Active AMBER notifications

There is another active AMBER Alert for a boy in Tennessee.

Sebastian Rogers, 15, has been missing since February 26th. He was last seen at his mother and stepfather’s home in Sumner County, Tennessee.

He is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs approximately 120 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes and wears glasses. He was last seen wearing black sweatpants and a black sweatshirt.

Anyone with information about Rogers is asked to call the Sumner County Emergency Communications Center at 615-451-3838 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Do you have a story we should cover? Do you have questions about this story or AMBER Alerts? Contact [email protected]