No Amber Alert, but FBI and SLED searching for missing SC 2-year-old taken by parents
A 2-year-old girl is missing from South Carolina, but there's been no Amber Alert about her disappearance.
South Carolina law enforcement officials said the girl was illegally taken by her parents and could be in North Carolina.
Camden Police had reported that an Amber Alert had not been issued "due to a paperwork issue" with the Department of Social Services, according to WISTV. That is not the case.
According to the South Carolina law Enforcement Division, to issue an Amber Alert the law enforcement agency must "believe that the child has been abducted . . . without permission from the child's parent or legal guardian."
The Amber Alert was not issued because the child was with her biological parents, according to Karen Wingo, Director of Communication at DSS and SLED spokesman Thom Berry.
There was also no indication that the child was in immediate danger of bodily harm or death, according to Berry.
"The child was not in DSS custody, therefore the biological father has custody," said Wingo, adding that DSS has entered the case into a national crime database and that the FBI, SLED and local law enforcement agencies are all looking for the child.
An Amber Alert is an emergency response system initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice that sends an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases when there is enough information to make the alert effective. The bulletin is usually sent through media broadcasts or electronic road signs.
According to the Department of Justice, 924 children have been rescued specifically because of an Amber Alert. the system began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed up with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children.
The system was named for 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered.
Media use the Emergency Alert System to air a description of the abducted child, suspected abductor and any vehicle that may have been used in the abduction. The goal of an Amber Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of the child.
The child's father, William Eugene Ray, was last seen at a North Carolina gas station Wednesday morning, according to Camden police, WISTV reported, adding he is believed to have connections in North Carolina.
William Ray, and his wife Jessica Louise Ray, were last seen driving a tan 1996 Ford Aerostar van with Idaho license plates, according to the Camden Police Department.
The Rays are accused of taking their daughter, who was being removed from their custody during an investigation by DSS, police said.
William Ray and his brother Johnny Lynn Ray were meeting with a DSS worker on April 12 to transfer custody of the girl to her uncle, according to an incident report.
On April 16, DSS contacted Johnny Ray, who said William Ray told him that DSS was going to turn custody back over to the parents, but needed him to come to their office and sign some paperwork to complete, according to the incident report.
Johnny Ray said he dropped off the child and William Ray at the DSS office and went to get food, but discovered they were gone when he returned, according to the incident report.
On April 17, DSS got an order to have the child removed from her parents, but police said they reported the child as missing.
Johnny Ray was charged with unlawful neglect of a child, according to the police.
William Ray has been charged with grand larceny for stealing the van, wltx.com reported.
Camden Police Chief Joe Floyd said William and Jessica Ray are known to be "heavy into meth," according to wistv.com.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, or click or tap here for the link.
This story was originally published April 18, 2018 at 7:13 PM with the headline "No Amber Alert, but FBI and SLED searching for missing SC 2-year-old taken by parents."