Amber Alert Called Off Because Girl Never Existed
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Police in Missouri say an Amber Alert that triggered a frantic search for a 5-year-old girl on Monday was issued in error, because the child did not exist. St. Louis County authorities report that the alleged abduction of Aleise Dawson was a hoax, and two women connected to the case are expected to face charges.
Authorities were initially told that a guardian had left the child in a running car in the St. Louis suburb of Affton, went into a nearby home, and returned to find both the car and the child missing. Officers located the vehicle a few blocks away and treated the incident as a kidnapping, prompting the statewide alert.
By Monday afternoon, police said the person who made the report retracted it after “an intense investigation.” St. Louis County Police Lt. Col. Gerald Lohr said investigators were suspicious from the beginning. The woman claiming to be the guardian of her deceased sister’s child had no photos of Aleise, and there were no toys or children’s clothing in her home. Lohr said the woman and her roommate apparently fabricated the story to get more police attention on the missing vehicle.
The women provided a detailed description of the nonexistent girl, which was shared in the Amber Alert: Aleise was described as a Black female with four ponytails, wearing a pink “Flower Power” t-shirt and blue shorts, standing 2 feet 6 inches tall and weighing around 60 pounds. Police plan to charge the women with filing a false police report.
Lohr said officers spent hours searching for the girl, knocking on doors and using a helicopter and K-9 units. He called fake reports “disturbing” and said they can re-traumatize families who have experienced an actual child abduction.
“While we are extremely grateful that there is no child in danger, we want to be very clear—we will use all available resources to ensure our community members, especially the most vulnerable among us, are safe,” the St. Louis County Police Department said. “Detectives are seeking charges against the two women involved in this hoax.”
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