Police Seek Missing Toddler 'In Danger of Bodily Harm'

The authorities in North Dakota are searching for a missing 3-year-old who they believe "may be in danger of bodily harm."

Fargo Police Department have identified the child as Beatris Lorraine Decoteau, who turned 3 in May. They are also searching for a 22-year-old woman, Breanna Jeanette Ziegler.

The police did not specify whether or how the pair are related.

The Amber alert issued on Wednesday initially included Terell Decoteau, also 22. It said: "Ziegler and Decoteau were ordered by the courts to turn over Beatris because the child may be in danger of bodily harm."

In an update to the Amber alert, the authorities said Terell Decoteau had been located, along with the 2013 gray Chevrolet Sonic the trio were believed to have travelled in.

Ziegler was last seen at Fargo Courthouse. She is described as a 5'7" white female with blue eyes and blonde hair.

Any member of the public who has information on the whereabouts of Ziegler or Beatris is asked to contact Fargo Police on 701-451-7660 or to call 911.

Newsweek has contacted the Fargo Police Department via email for comment.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a Department of Justice database, says there are 23,336 open missing persons cases across the U.S. Only 40 of these cases involve a child aged 5 or under.

Earlier this week an Amber alert was issued in Bell County, Texas, for a 7-year-old, Kryslee Hernandez.

Kryslee had been seen walking into a wooded area on Tuesday with a 39-year-old woman, Amanda Guerra. Temple Police Department later confirmed that Guerra is Kryslee's mother.

The pair were located on Wednesday morning, police said. A statement shared on Twitter said Guerra had used a bystander's phone to call a family member, who then contacted detectives. They were found about half a mile away from their last known location.

Mother and child "were immediately evaluated by EMS and likely dehydrated. Both had minor scratches indicating they had traveled in a wooded area. Guerra, 39, was taken into custody on an emergency detention order. Kryslee Hernandez, 7, was released to family members."

The police statement added: "This case is an active criminal investigation. Potential charges are being investigated related to this incident."

Professor Karen Shalev-Greene, director of the Centre for the Study of Missing Persons, at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K., has previously spoken to Newsweek about the complexities of missing person searches.

"Ninety-nine percent of people are found within the first 28 days of them going missing. In general the vast majority of people, 99 percent, are found alive," she said.