Missing San Jose Teen Returns Home After AMBER Alert Activation

SAN JOSE, California — An AMBER Alert was deactivated Wednesday for a 14-year-old girl from San Jose who had been reported missing on Monday but returned home shortly after the alert was issued, officials reported.

The California Highway Patrol issued the alert on Tuesday morning, asking for the public’s assistance in locating the teenager, who had last been seen around 4:45 p.m. on Monday near Mariposa Avenue and Tillman Avenue, in the Midtown area of the city, just west of downtown.

Authorities confirmed that the girl returned home later Tuesday, just hours after the AMBER Alert went into effect.

The swift response to the missing person report highlights the effectiveness of the AMBER Alert system, which aims to quickly spread information about abducted children to local communities. Officials did not release additional details about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance or her return.

The AMBER Alert program is named for Amber Hagerman, a young girl who was abducted and murdered in Texas in 1996, and has since helped in the recovery of numerous missing children across the nation.