Missing Katy teen at center of Amber Alert found safe
KATY, TX (KTRK) -- An Amber Alert was issued for 13-year-old Wendy Arely Hernandez-Orantes, who had been last seen walking near her bus stop early yesterday. Late this afternoon, Wendy was located safely.
She was found at a Houston apartment complex, and three individuals have been detained for questioning.
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The suspect is a 20-year-old Hispanic male named Jose Enrique Ramos Rivera, who may also go by the name Enrique Mejia -- an alias given on the app WhatsApp. Police say the teen has talked with this person in the past, and they don't know whether she left with him or whether there was an abduction. Family members say there were threats made by this man to her family. However, police say on a previous occasion the girl left with this man back in July.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office, the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are also working to help find the girl.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office is investigating the girl's previous interactions with a man by this name and an open case exists, according to Katy ISD police.
The Katy ISD police say they have no leads at this time.
Calls to Wendy's cell phone by her mother ring once and then go directly to voicemail, according to police.
Police say Wendy's mother saw her last on the way to the bus stop, and when she didn't come home from school, her mother called police around 5pm yesterday.
"We're concerned, even if it's voluntary. She's 13 years old," a Katy ISD officer said. "...We're going to assume it was an abduction until we're proven wrong, and I hope we are."
Anyone with information about the missing child or suspect is asked to immediately call the Katy ISD Police at 281-237-4000.
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