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An amber alert was issued for 14-year-old girl Barbora Zdanska on Monday after she disappeared from Daytona Beach, Florida.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who issued the alert, stated Barbora Zdanska, who has also been referred to as Barbara Zdansky, was last seen in the area of the 100 block of Boynton Boulevard in Daytona Beach.
She was last seen wearing a black Adidas sweatshirt with white stripes on the sleeves and black jean shorts. She is described as being white, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is around 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 136 pounds.
Police said Zdanska may have been kidnapped after they confirmed that she was able to send a message to a family member, according to a report by Tampa Bay outlet Fox 13 report.
"The victim was observed voluntarily getting into a vehicle," Sgt. Tim Ehrenkaufer, a spokesman for the Daytona Beach Police Department, said, according to the report.
"The vehicle is believed to belong to a boyfriend or a family member of a boyfriend. The victim was later able to get a message to a family member, indicating that she had been kidnapped."
In an update early on Tuesday morning, authorities confirmed that a vehicle Zdanska is believed to have traveled in was located, however the teenager is still missing.
The vehicle was a blue Dodge Caravan and police have said the owner of the vehicle was cooperative," according to a report by local news channel WESH 2.
The owner said she picked up the teen in Daytona Beach and dropped her off at a house in Jacksonville, Florida, which is more than 90 miles north of Zdanska's last known location.
Zdanska may also be in the company of another teenager around the age of 14 possibly called Carlos, according to a Daytona Beach Police Department Facebook post.
** MISSING PERSON **Have you seen this missing juvenile? Officers are looking for 14-year-old Barbora Zdanska, W/F, date of birth is March 3, 2009. Barbora was last seen in the 100 block of Boynton...
Newsweek contacted the Daytona Beach Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement via email for further information and comment on Tuesday.
Karen Shalev-Greene, the director at 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 finding missing people.
She said that 99 percent of people are found alive within the first 28 days of them going missing. Unfortunately, returning safely in such a timely manner is not the case in all missing-person investigations.
Despite this, one mother from Arizona issued a message of optimism for any parents whose child has gone missing after she was informed that her daughter, who had been missing for nearly four years, had been found.
Last week, Jessica Nunez, the mother of Alicia Navarro, the now 18-year-old who went missing at the age of 14, told parents not give up hope that their child will be found.
"I do feel I owe this video to the community and to God," she said in the video that was shared on Twitter by 12 News journalist Bianca Buono.
"I first of all want to give glory to God for answering their prayers and for this miracle. For everyone who has missing loved ones, I want you to use this case as an example. Miracles do exist and never lose hope and always fight.
"My daughter, Alicia Navarro, was missing since September 15th, 2019, she has been found safe."
About the writer
Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more