01 February 2024 , 15:23
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An Amber Alert has been issued for a missing eight-year-old girl who is believed to be in grave or immediate danger.
Layken Stokes was last seen in Taylor, about 26 miles northeast of Austin, Texas, on Wednesday night, and has not been heard from since. Police said the girl's last sighting was at 7.45pm in the 5000 block of FM 973, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said.
The child - who is described as 4ft 8ins tall and weighs 89lbs - has blonde hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing a purple tank top and blue and white plaid pants. She had temporary tattoos on her arms and was carrying a white and blue blanket.
READ MORE: Police issue urgent appeal to find missing boy, 16, last seen this morning
Police are worried for the girl's welfare (Getty Images/iStockphoto)According to the DPS, she wears glasses but does not currently have them. Law enforcement believe Layken is in grave or immediate danger. Anyone with information is asked to call the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office at 512-864-8282.
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Amber plans require law enforcement to confirm an abduction prior to issuing an alert. In the US, every state adopts the "17 years of age or younger" standard in order to issue an Amber Alert.
It comes just days after two girls who vanished from a foster home in Sorrento, Florida, were found hundreds of miles away in Louisiana. Five-year-old Tillie Williams and her 20-month-old sister, Natalia Williams, were found on Friday following a frantic search after the girls disappeared sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
The sisters were found by authorities in Louisiana, with their mother Dixie now in custody on a warrant issued by the Sheriff's Office charging her with two counts of kidnapping, according to investigators. No further information has been released yet on the circumstances around how the girls were found.
According to deputies, Dixie lost custody of the two girls around a year and a half ago. A statewide Amber Alert was issued for the girls after they vanished from their foster home. Authorities have said they believe the girls were taken from their bedroom window, and that their biological mother had access to a neighbourhood pass from when she previously borrowed the foster family's car.
People are notified via emails an free text messages while road signs and lottery machines are also employed to notify the public. In order for an Amber Alert to be triggered there are five criteria that must be met:
- The child is under the age of 18
- Law enforcement has a well-founded belief, based on an active investigation, that a kidnapping has occurred
- Law enforcement has a well-founded belief, based on an active investigation, that the child is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury
- There is a detailed description of the child and or the abductor/vehicle to broadcast to the public
- The law enforcement agency of jurisdiction recommends activation