The Nuts and Bolts: A note found in the 11-year-old girl's backpack said that she was going to Mexico and would rather be dead than living at home. So she ran off with her 23-year-old boyfriend Enrique Vasquez, a convicted felon. The fifth-grader's mother said she was surprised to discover that her daughter's boyfriend was an adult rather than a classmate, a fact she learned from school friends. Police were told that Vasquez played soccer with the girl's father, but her family was unaware of any relationship between the two and he didn't have permission to take the child. An arrest warrant was issued for Vasquez on kidnapping and probation violation charges. About a week after the girl left home she phoned her mother (who was at the police station at the time) and told her that she was safe and in Mexico.
Although TPD issued a local Amber Alert, the Texas Department of Public Safety refused to do so. From the Houston Chronicle: DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said the case did not meet the agency's statewide Amber Alert criteria because a person must be unwillingly taken or abducted. "It's one of those things where we have to be very stringent because we don't want to wear out the welcome through the public or news media," she said. Although the alert was picked up by news outlets and Web sites statewide, it was not carried on any billboards or electronic signs operated by the state. Tyler police, who issued their alert through a nonprofit contracted by the governor's office to assist with Amber Alert logistics, disagreed with the state agency's characterization. "Our thinking is this is an 11-year-old girl and he's a convicted felon," said Tyler police spokesman Don Martin. "Yes, we think she's in danger. I wish I could say it was a full-fledged Amber Alert through the state, but we can't get it."
This is tragic story, and I sincerely hope the girl is returned safely and her "boyfriend," if he's ever caught, faces prosecution. But I tend to agree with the TDPS on this one issue. Seven thousand people are reported missing each year in Texas, most of them runaways. If the public becomes overwhelmed with Amber Alerts where a child's life is not immediately threatened, then those children who are in immediate danger might receive less attention than they deserve. Either way, it's a tough call.





