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On the afternoon of Monday, July 3, Duval County authorities announced that missing 12-year-old Jacksonville girl Fernanda Arias has been found. The man accused of abducting her was identified by investigating officers as Jorge Reyes. No further information has been released about the suspect as of yet.
Trigger warning: This article concerns child abduction, reader discretion is advised.
According to News4Ajax, an Amber Alert was issued on Monday for the then-missing girl. Fernanda Arias was described by the police as 4'11 and approximately 100 pounds. She is Hispanic with brown eyes and medium-length hair. At the time she went missing, she was seen wearing dark pants and a white shirt. Authorities have not disclosed Reyes' alleged motive for leaving with Fernanda Arias.
The timeline of Fernanda Arias' disappearance
Officials believe that Fernanda Arias left her home with Jorge Reyes at approximately 3:00 am on Monday, July 3. Witnesses stated that she was last seen leaving her home in a dark 2-doored Honda with a large rear spoiler. It was reportedly being driven by a male that appeared to be Hispanic. Authorities later identified the driver as Jorge Reyes.
After Fernanda Arias was reported missing, Florida authorities issued an Alert at about 8:00 am. At 9:40 am, after the initial search efforts were cancelled, they upgraded it to an Amber Alert. According to officials, the 12-year-old was eventually found within the vicinity of her home. The search efforts were ceased, and the Amber Alert was cancelled.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced that Jorge Reyes has also been found. However, they have not discussed the charges he will face, nor the details of the abduction allegations.
Missing children cases in Florida
According to the FBI, more than 24,000 missing childrens cases were reported to Florida authorities last year. As per the Missing Kids organization, at the current moment the state has approximately 237 active missing persons cases. The National Missing Persons Data base listed 324 active cases in 2023.
He continued:
“The public often knows something they think is not important but which we in law enforcement find very important."
Florida is considered by Wisevoter to be one of the top ten States in America with the highest number of missing persons cases. Other States include California, Texas, Arizona, Washington, New York, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
Todd Tumbleson, a criminal investigator with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, described law enforcement's approach to missing person's cases:
“We as law enforcement never forget these children and never stop looking for them."
The FBI added that with regards to missing children's cases, they are often sensitive. As a result, officials only give out necessary information to the public, and choose to withhold details that could potentially compromise the investigation.
