Rochester Amber Alert: Joanna Coates, 14, Allegedly Abducted by 41-year-old Man Is in Imminent Danger

Police have issued an Amber Alert for a teenage girl who was abducted in upstate New York and might be heading to New York City.

Joanna Coates was allegedly kidnapped by Robert Gonzalez on LaSalle Street in Rochester on Saturday around 7 p.m., the police said on Tuesday. Gonzalez, 41, was last seen traveling southeast, possibly heading to New York City.

The authorities said the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the 14-year-old had led them to believe she could be in imminent danger. Coates was described as a white female, with brown hair, green eyes, 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing about 100 pounds.

She was last seen wearing a blue Nike shirt, black leggings and Timberland boots. Gonzalez is described as a Hispanic male, about 6 feet tall and weighing 185 pounds.

Linda Hollart, the girl's mother, said she believes her daughter was abducted right outside the family's home by Gonzalez, who reportedly lived nearby.

She said that Gonzalez repeatedly tried to hang out with Coates during the summer.

"He's a junkie, he sells drugs, he pimps girls out. I don't want my daughter to be one of those people," Hollart told the Rochester NBC-affiliate WHEC-TV. "I am asking anybody, everybody, I don't care where she is, just bring her home safely to me. I love you, we love you. If you're watching this Joanna, please come home."

According to Rochester-based newspaper the Democrat and Chronicle, Gonzalez is a thrice-convicted felon who last served time at the Orleans Correctional Facility in Albion. Citing state records, the newspaper reported that in 1997 the 41-year-old was convicted of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon in Kings County and was released on parole after nearly four years at Gouverneur Correctional Facility.

In 2003, Gonzalez was then sentenced to four years in prison at Chateaugay Correctional Facility after being found guilty of fifth-degree attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance. Five years later, in 2008, he was again convicted, this time after being found guilty of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison and was released from state custody in 2011.

Anyone with any information on this abduction is asked to call the Rochester City Police Department at (866) NYS-AMBER or dial 911 to provide information on a report or sighting.

This article has been updated with details of Gonzalez's previous convictions.

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