The Rochester Police Department has issued an AMBER alert for a seven-year-old child in New York who may be in immediate danger.
Akelise Johnson, 7, was last seen on North Water Street in Rochester, New York at 11:22 a.m. Tuesday. Police believe Akelise is with Celeta Johnson.
Celeta, 35, was last seen leaving on foot with Akelise around 1899 N. Water St. It is unclear at this time if the two are related.
AMBER Alert
Akelise is described to have bald, black hair and is approximately 4-foot, 6-inches. He is 60 pounds and has brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt, colorful shorts and white colored square glasses.
Celeta is said to be 5-foot, 7-inches and weighs 170 lbs.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 1-866-NYS-AMBER.
What is an Amber Alert?
As of 2023, 1,200 children were found through the AMBER Alert system and 180 children were rescued because of the emergency alerts.
“Every child featured in an AMBER Alert has been reported missing to law enforcement. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of a missing child,” Alan S. Nanavaty, Executive Director of Special Programs for National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, in a previous interview with Newsweek.
Nanavaty said on average, there are less than 200 AMBER Alerts issued each year. The alerts are broadcast through radio, TV, road signs, cellphones, and other data-enabled devices. The AMBER Alert system is being used in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Indian country, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Newsweek created a map using 2022 data showing states have seen the most Amber alerts in 2022. According to the data, there were 31 Amber Alerts in Texas in 2022.
Recent Active Amber Alerts
A Wisconsin toddler is still missing more than three months after an Amber Alert was issued for the child.
Elijah Vue was last seen on February 20 in Two Rivers while staying with his mother’s boyfriend, 39-year-old Jesse Vang. When Vang woke up from a three-hour nap around 11 a.m., the 3-year-old child was gone.
“He was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, long sleeve dark colored shirt and red and green dinosaur slip on shoes,” the Amber Alert said.
Vang and 31-year-old Katrina Baur, Vue’s mother, are being held at the Manitowoc County Jail for child neglect.
A search effort is also ongoing for Tennessee 15-year-old Sebastian Rogers. He vanished from his mother and stepfather’s home in Sumner County, Tennessee on February 26.
Rogers is described as having “a medical condition that may impair his ability to return safely without assistance.”
