An AMBER Alert was issued for a 14-year-old girl in Utah who investigators said they believed was in "immediate danger of serious bodily injury or death."
Areli Arroyo Osuna was last seen Monday getting into a vehicle driven by 20-year-old David Lopez, who officials said also goes by Amilsar Vasquez, Salt Lake City news station KUTV reported. Authorities initially believed that Osuna was a runaway.
The alarm for the Utah teen adds an increased urgency to pinpointing her location. Police did not immediately elaborate on why she was believed to be in "immediate danger," but said that she and Lopez may have possibly been heading toward Texas or Mexico.
#Magna, #Utah #AMBERAlert. For most current information, go to https://t.co/utr0tGR6Z5 pic.twitter.com/AWuczmzWtI
— AMBER Alert (@AMBERAlert) March 22, 2022
The Utah AMBER alert described Osuna as a white female with brown hair and brown eyes, weighing 90 pounds and standing at 4'7" tall. She was last seen wearing denim pants, a denim jacket, a black shirt, white Nike shoes, and carrying a large white bag.
Osuna was born on August 31, 2007.
The alert did not provide a description for Lopez but described the car Osuna was last seen getting into as a black Nissan Altima. She entered the car Monday in Magna at about 9:50 a.m., according to the AMBER alert.
Lopez is not a family member of Osuna's, according to the alert. It was not immediately clear how the two were connected.
Utah's criteria for issuing an AMBER Alert stipulates that law enforcement must believe that a child or children have been abducted, the victim or victims are facing "imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death," the victim is 17 years old or younger and there is information "that could assist the public in the safe recovery of the victim or apprehension of a suspect."
The Utah alert came the day after Texas authorities issued and later canceled an alert for two missing children. The two young girls, who are 7 and 2 years old, disappeared Sunday afternoon but were found about three hours after an AMBER Alert was issued in the early hours of Monday, Dallas news station WFAA reported.
Anyone with information on Osuna's case was instructed to contact the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake at 385-468-9858 or call 911.
Newsweek contacted the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake for comment.
Update 03/22/22, 3:45 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.
Update 03/22/22, 2:50 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and background.
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