By james art 
Police have issued an Amber Alert for Juan Sebastian Mejia Acevedo, a missing 12-year-old boy who authorities say was abducted Friday from Virginia Beach.
Newsweek reached the City of Virginia Beach Police Department for comment Saturday by email outside regular business hours.
The context
In a joint statement, Virginia State Police and the Virginia Missing Children’s Information Center said they believe Acevedo was “abducted by an unknown person” and was in “extreme danger.”
What you need to know
According to the Amber Alert that Virginia State Police issued early Saturday, Acevedo is a 12-year-old Hispanic male with black hair and brown eyes. He is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 105 pounds.
He is believed to have been abducted around 9 a.m. Friday and was last seen in the 200 block of Mica Avenue, Virginia Beach, wearing blue pants, a red hoodie and black shoes. He has no “scars, marks or tattoos.”
Anyone with information on Acevedo’s whereabouts is urged to contact the City of Virginia Beach Police Department at 757-385-5000. If anyone sees Acevedo in person, they should call 911 immediately.
Virginia State Police
AMBER is an acronym for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, and the alert system has been used in all 50 states since it was first implemented in 1996. Alerts are broadcast by local authorities via cell towers to any emergency alert-enabled wireless mobile devices within a designated area.
An Amber Alert can be issued when law enforcement “has reasonable suspicion that a missing child has been abducted” and “believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.”
In November, Colorado issued an Amber Alert for 7-year-old Uriah Sy Jr. after he was allegedly kidnapped by a woman accused of shooting his father. Police later rescued the boy and arrested the woman in question.
A statewide alert has been issued in Ohio for 7-year-old Oaklyn Alexander after her father, Charles Alexander, was accused of abducting her. Police later shot and killed the 43-year-old man, who was said to have been armed.
In December, the alert was used elsewhere in Virginia, where a mother was accused of kidnapping her children and taking them across state lines. Police arrested Shanice Shante Davison in Alabama after a “short chase” and got all three children out “safe and unharmed.”
What happens next
Virginia State Police and the Virginia Missing Children Information Center have issued an Amber Alert on behalf of the Virginia Beach Police Department following Acevedo’s alleged abduction, and authorities will continue the search and investigation with the assistance of other agencies.