Texas teens at center of Amber Alert believed to be in grave danger

SEAGOVILLE, Texas (KTRK) -- The Seagoville Police Department is asking for the public to be on the lookout for two teenage girls at the center of an Amber Alert.

Devany Betancourt, 16, and Marina Nelson, 17, were last seen in Seagoville, outside Dallas, on Sunday, April 18.

Devany was wearing a gold and pink shirt, jeans, brown boots, a gold chain with a bull and two gold rings. She's described as Hispanic with brown eyes and black hair, standing at 5'2" and weighing 110 pounds.

Nelson was last seen wearing an orange shirt, gray sweatshirt and shorts. Police describe her as a white female with wavy brown hair, green eyes, 5'9" and 130 pounds.

Officials did not provide information on suspects or who abducted the girls, but they believe the teens are in grave or immediate danger.

If you have any information, you're asked to call the Seagoville Police Department at 972-287-2999.

Certain criteria need to be met in order for law enforcement to issue an Amber Alert for a missing child age 17 or younger.

First, there needs to be a reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction occurred. Additionally, the law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.

Another criteria is that there is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction that would assist in the recovery of the child, such as a vehicle description or license plate number.

As part of the Amber Alert, the child's name and other critical date elements, including the child abduction flag, are entered into the National Crime Information Center.

The Amber Alert system, used in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, was created in 1996. It stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bike in Arlington, Texas, and later murdered.

You can view all active Texas Amber Alerts from the Texas Dept. of Public Safety here.