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Ohio officials issued an AMBER Alert for a 13-year-old who went missing on Friday.
Makenzie Hall was last seen in Columbus on South Huron Ave. She is described as a white female who is 5 foot, 7 inches tall, weighing about 115 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen wearing a dark grey hoodie and white shoes with a pink backpack.
Officials identified the suspect in her disappearance as Shane Steven Smith. He is described as a 48-year-old, 5-foot-11 white male weighing around 200 pounds with brown hair and green eyes.
A description of the vehicle involved in the incident has been provided. It is a white 2004 Ford Ranger with Ohio license plate number HRW1901.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Columbus Police Department at 614-645-4747.
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 is currently one other active AMBER Alert for a child in Tennessee.
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.
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About the writer
Jenna Sundel is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on breaking news. She has in-depth ... Read more