02 September 2023 , 09:04
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A teenage girl in Texas who was the subject of an amber alert has now been charged with the murder of a 21-year-old man while another suspect is on the run.
Natalie Navarro, 17, is suspected of killing Mesquite resident Arturo Pena, investigators in the Dallas suburb of Garland said. On the run is Yordy Martinez, 21, after Pena's body was found in a vehicle when a passerby told authorities he appeared to be passed out.
Officers discovered a gunshot wound on Pena - he had been missing since August 27 - when they arrived at the scene on August 29. As the investigation developed, Navarro became the subject of an amber alert issued by Dallas Police on Thursday.
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Yordy Martinez remains on the loose, police said (Dallas Amber Alert)She was last seen around 2.15pm that day and was believed to be in immediate or grave danger. The alert was discontinued at 3.30am the next day when Garland Police confirmed she was found in South Texas by law enforcement in Webb County.
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"The reason why this happened, we've yet to totally determine that. We hope to get more when we talk to Natalie to see exactly what was going on if these persons knew each other, if they had a relationship, if there was a falling out," said Garland Police Lieutenant Richard Moldonado.
Amber alerts are used by local police to notify the wider community of a potentially abducted child. They were first brought into effect in 1996 in the wake of the death of Amber Hagerman, nine.
The Department of Justice's (DoJ) Office of Justice Programs explained: "The AMBER Alert System began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children.
"AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, TX, and then brutally murdered.
"Other states and communities soon set up their own AMBER plans as the idea was adopted across the nation."
The criteria for amber alerts
- A criteria has to be met for amber alerts to be activated, which includes the following:
- A reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred
- Law enforcement agency believes the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death
- Enough descriptive information about the victim
- The child is younger than 17
- The child’s name and other critical data elements, including the Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system