Police: Missing 12-year-old girl in Pueblo found safe
UPDATE: Pueblo Police have confirmed that 12-year-old Katie McWilliams has been found safe.
McWilliams was missing for more than 24 hours and the circumstances of her disappearance still aren’t clear. Police told KRDO that she was taken to the Child Advocacy Center to interview her and “address some concerns and questions that arose from the incident.
Around 4:06 pm a detective found McWilliams in a room in her home on the 2800 block of Baltimore Avenue with several dogs. Authorities weren’t immediately given access to that room due to fear of the dogs getting out or biting police.
Police says it us unclear how long she was inside the home, and how long she was out in the streets.
McWilliams was found in good shape and was unharmed. No arrests are expected to follow the dissappearance lasting more than 24 hours.
Pueblo Police say the issued considerable resources to finding Katie, and for good reason.
“(Katie) does not have a history of running away,” said Sgt. Frank Ortega with the Pueblo Police Department. “This was kind of unusual behavior so that was one our concerns. Another concern was her age, there were several factors in play that made this situation a little different than most.”
Sgt. Ortega responded to the crticism that their wasn’t an amber alert used. He said in this case an amber alert was not warranted.
“This was a cause for concern but it did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert,” said Sgt. Ortega. “There is a reason there is strict criteria. If we did an amber alert for every twelve year old kid that was missing, the effectiveness of the Amber Alert wouldn’t be the same.”
Family of McWilliams tell KRDO they believe the reason of the dissappearnance may that Katie felt ashamed for missing the bus Monday morning. They say the parents have been reuinited with Katie for a short period of time.
They also want to thank all of the people who came out to help search for Katie and pass out fliers.
As it stands, the investigation is still on going. Updates are expected in the coming days.
Earlier
Pueblo Police are searching for 12-year-old Katie McWilliams who was last seen Monday morning near her school, Heroes Academy.
Reports say she was last seen at 7:10 a.m. at 29th and Baltimore and that she never showed up to school.
McWilliams is described as having long brown hair, hazel eyes, 4’8″ tall and weighs about 60 lbs.
She was last seen wearing black pants, a black Heroes Academy T-shirt and brown hiking boots.
The family is organizing a search party that is based out of the Clarion Inn at 4001 N. Elizabeth Street. A few dozen people have already begun searching but there are several others at the hotel giving information on how to help.
Police say the circumstances of Katie’s disappearance “aren’t clear or evident at this time.” If you have any information you are asked to call the Pueblo Police Department at 719-553-2502.
