TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — The search continues for Ashley and Adhara Alvarenga Duarte after an AMBER alert was issued early Thursday evening.
The girls were last seen Wednesday afternoon, July 29, near the 4800 block of East Yager Ln. near Manor, which appears to be a food truck court.
Amanda Van Hoozer, Chief Program Officer with the Center for Child Protection, says the early days of the search are crucial.
“It’s certainly important to get on them quickly,” she said. “AMBER Alerts are not issued randomly or without really purposeful thought.”
Authorities are searching for Ashley Alvarenga-Duarte, 14, and Adhara Alvarenga-Duarte, 2 months old, who were last seen around 3 p.m. July 29 in the 4800 block of East Yager Lane in Manor. (Photo: Travis County Sheriff’s Office)
ALSO | Suspect arrested after SWAT team returns to same South Austin home for second day in a row
In Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety outlines the requirements a case must meet for an AMBER alert to be issued.
Children must be 17 years old or younger, and their disappearance or abduction must be determined to have been unwilling. AMBER Alerts are only issued when there are credible threats to a child’s safety.
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TSCO) believes the girls are in immediate or grave danger.
As the hours pass, Dr. Skip Griffin with the University of Nevada, Reno says his concern grows. Griffin researches AMBER Alerts and their effectiveness.
“It occurred on Wednesday. And for reasons that aren’t yet clear to us, they delayed issuing until Thursday,” he said. “Well, again, the thing is: the research shows that in the worst cases, murder is going to occur very quickly.”
However, he wants to assure the public that these worst-case scenarios are not the majority of missing child cases.
“My suspicion is these two girls, this14-year-old and this newborn, are probably not in serious danger. That’s what the statistics typically show,” he said. “But if that’s the case, then that begs the question of why an AMBER Alert was even necessary.”
When asked how many missing children are found as a direct result of AMBER Alerts, he said most are not.
“My data are very consistent with what the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s data say, which is that it happens about—you know, depends on how you measure certain things—but about one fifth of the time,” he said. “In other words, that’s a very important statistic right there. AMBER Alerts normally do nothing.”
Yet, Griffin also notes that subjects of AMBER Alerts are often located safely.
“What that tells us is something very powerful. It tells us that children in AMBER Alert cases are coming home safe, which they do most of the time,” he said. “They’re coming home safe for some reason other than AMBER Alerts.”
Griffin says that more than the presence of an AMBER Alert, the result of missing children’s investigations more heavily relies on the actions of law enforcement and the intentions of the abductor.
Van Hoozer is urging the public to stay vigilant in the search for the girls.
“Sometimes they’re in your area; they’re in your neighborhood. But I think I’m always surprised at the number of people that saw someone at a convenience store, saw someone at a gas station or saw someone on the highway,” she said.
Ashley is described as a 14-year-old Hispanic female with brown hair and brown eyes. She is believed to be approximately 5 feet and 4 inches tall, weighing around 180 pounds. She was last seen wearing a brown shirt with light blue polka dots and blue jeans.
Adhara is 2 months old and was last seen wearing a onesie with cats.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or contact the Travis County Sheriff’s Office at 512-974-0845, ext. 3.