AMBER Alert Canceled For 12-Year-Old Hampstead Boy
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A 12-year-old Maryland boy who was the subject of an AMBER Alert was found Tuesday morning with his father in a shed in Carroll County, authorities said.
The pair were unharmed but were taken to an area hospital for evaluation, Maryland State Police said. Criminal charges for the father are pending the outcome of an investigation.
The discovery put an end to a 15-hour search that began Monday afternoon when the boy's mother reported him missing after he did not show up for school, authorities said.
Investigators learned that the boy was with his father, who was last seen last Friday driving a black 2021 Jeep Wrangler. Based on the circumstances, police issued an AMBER Alert.
Authorities later found the Jeep abandoned in a field in Westminster. Nearly 100 people searched a 1.5-mile area for the pair, who were found with the family's dog in a shed about a half-mile from the Jeep.
Once the pair was located, crisis negotiators were brought in to speak with the child's father. About 10 a.m., the boy and his father were taken into police custody unharmed, police said.
The pair were taken to an area hospital to be checked out. No injuries have been reported.
"I'm very happy, as is everybody up here today, that we recovered the child safely wasn't harmed," MSP Major Dan Pickett said. "Nobody was injured. It's a good day. It's a great day."
In Maryland, AMBER Alerts are issued when authorities have confirmed that a child was abducted and is believed to be in immediate danger, the child is believed to be in the area, and there are enough details about the child, suspect or vehicle that an immediate broadcast can be made to help with the search.
AMBER Alerts are named after Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered in Texas in 1997, according to Maryland State Police.