Irving Police say they have found a girl who disappeared from her home Sunday in Alabama. The girl's family says she left home to go to a birthday party Sunday morning, but she never showed up.
Irving Police believed the girl might have been in danger. They attempted to issue an "Athena Alert" to find the girl. The state created an Athena Alert in 2023 as part of the AMBER Alert network.
An Athena Alert can be issued if a child's disappearance does not meet all AMBER Alert criteria, but a police chief or sheriff believes the child could be in danger. The Athena Alert can then be issued within 100 miles of the child's disappearance and in counties adjacent to where the kid was last seen.
The Athena Alert is named for Athena Strand, a seven year old who was kidnapped and killed in Wise County in 2022. Law enforcement did not have enough information to issue an AMBER Alert in that case. The suspect in that case is scheduled to go on trial for capital murder in March of this year.
Monday morning, Irving police said the girl's disappearance did not meet requirements for an Athena Alert because she had likely traveled to another state.
A few hours later, they said the girl had been found in Madison, Alabama, west of Huntsville. She was not hurt, and Irving Police say they were reuniting her with her family.
"We want to thank the Madison Police Department for their full cooperation in this investigation," Irving Police wrote in a statement.
Police say the girl was traveling with a boy who is under 18. Monday, they said they were investigating whether the boy would face criminal charges.
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