NEED TO KNOW
Morgan Crenshaw, 17, has been missing from Northern California since Sept. 29Crenshaw’s grandmother told police her granddaughter “was heading to Oakland” before she disappearedPolice in Antioch, Calif., said Crenshaw’s last known communication came via text on Friday, Oct. 3
Police in Northern California are looking for a 17-year-old girl whose family says she’s been missing since late last month.
Morgan Crenshaw has not been seen since Sept. 29 and was reported missing by her family on Oct. 5, the Antioch Police Department said in a news release Tuesday.
“This is not a normal pattern of life for Crenshaw,” Antioch Police said, citing information from the missing teenager’s family.
“Antioch Police Department detectives immediately began investigating the case and believe it is suspicious,” the police department said. “After interviewing several acquaintances Crenshaw was possibly seen on October 3rd at about 5 AM in the area of International Boulevard and 12th Street in Oakland.”
Antioch Police said earlier this month that investigators believe Crenshaw’s grandmother was the last person to have seen the missing teenager. Crenshaw’s grandmother told police that her granddaughter “was heading to Oakland,” officials said in an Oct. 5 news release.
Investigators said in the news release that Crenshaw’s last known communication came via text on Friday, Oct. 3 – two days before she was reported missing.
“Morgan is approximately 5’0” tall and 110 lbs,” officials said. “She was last seen wearing a pink wig, black jacket, black bottoms, and black slippers.”
Morgan Crenshaw.
Antioch Police Department
California Highway Patrol has also issued an Ebony Alert in response to Crenshaw’s disappearance – an emergency alert similar to Amber Alerts for children, but for Black women between the ages of 12 and 25. An Ebony Alert is issued only when “the investigating law enforcement agency has used all available local resources” to find the missing person and a person is either deemed to be in danger or suspected of being a victim of trafficking, according to the highway patrol’s website.
The California Highway Patrol urges anyone with information they believe could be helpful in tracking down a missing person to alert 911 “immediately.”
“Even the smallest piece of information can be the piece that leads to a successful recovery,” the California Highway Patrol guidance says.
Crenshaw’s sister Jaionyi Kennard told local NBC Bay Area that her 17-year-old sister is an “uplifting” person who has always made others happy. “You can’t sit around her and be sad,” Kennard said, telling the local news station she typically speaks to her sister at least every other day.
“My fear is her being held against her will,” Kennard said, adding that it’s “not normal” for her sister to not be in contact with her family. “That is my fear. My fear is her wanting to leave and she can’t — whether that’s because she’s getting physically harmed or whether she’s getting threatened.”
Sharing a message with her sister in case she is able to read the news, Crenshaw’s sister told NBC: “If she ever sees this, whatever is going on, don’t stop fighting, don’t give up. We’re here. I just want her to know we’re here.”