Search continues for teen in possible Titusville abduction

Update: Titusville police held a briefing Wednesday morning to gather any information related to the possible abduction of a teenage girl on Barna Avenue.



New information could be released by Titusville Police Department later.



Check back for updates.



Original:



TITUSVILLE — The search continues for an unidentified teenage girl who was reported abducted on Barna Avenue Tuesday morning.

Titusville Police Department is investigating with assistance from Brevard County Sheriff's Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI after an Amber Alert for an abducted child was issued for an African-American girl between the ages of 12 and 15.

"We have not located the suspect vehicle," said Deputy Chief Todd Hutchinson of the Titusville Police Department. Detectives also were working to identify the girl.

Police said witnesses called 9-1-1 after spotting what they believed was the girl being pulled or shoved into a vehicle.

"We're keeping this team in place until we get other leads," Hutchinson said.



The teen was last seen in the area of the 1600 block of Barna Avenue in Titusville. Witnesses said she was being pulled into a charcoal SUV by an unknown person sometime between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m.Tuesday, according to FDLE.

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The girl is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and has dreadlocks in her hair with one white stripe. She was last seen wearing a green shirt and khaki pants. The vehicle's tag number is unknown.

Police are continuing to talk with witnesses to gather more information. So far, authorities are canvasing the area for clues to what may have happened or whether an abduction actually occurred.

A mobile command station with dozens of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies was established at the First Presbyterian Church on Park Avenue a few blocks away from where the abduction was reported.

By Tuesday afternoon, police had gone through school absence records to determine if any students matching the description of the girl was not in class. Hutchinson said all students were accounted for.

Hutchinson described the search efforts of the various agencies as law enforcement personnel continued looking for the girl throughout the day.

"We immediately activated the child abduction team. That involved the Amber Alert, reverse 911 calls. We've done door-to-door canvasing," Hutchinson said. "We've deployed off-road vehicles to off-road areas."

An Amber Alert is a child abduction alert system, short for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. It's named after Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old abducted and murdered in Arlington, Texas in 1996. Reverse 911 is a public alert system for people and businesses alerting danger by sending a recorded voice message to landlines and registered cellphones within an area.



"We've checked every location you could possibly think of, so at this point, we are relying on any other tips that may come in on the identity of this victim," Hutchinson said.



The Brevard County Sheriff's Office tactical helicopter hovered over the area to help in the search.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Titusville Police Department at 911 or 321-264-7800.

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Follow breaking news reporter Tyler Vazquez from the scene.