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An Amber Alert was issued Friday after a three-year-old child was abducted by his mother in Nevada County, authorities said.
The California Highway Patrol and Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said Maverick Brown was reportedly taken by his mother to an unincorporated part of the county around 11:33 a.m. Authorities said the child was abducted during an attack on North Bloomfield Road near Grizzly Hill Road near the South Yuba Campground, about six miles northwest of Nevada County.
The mother, identified as Siera Saliterro, 30, took the boy and was on foot and was last seen heading southeast toward the South Yuba River. Officials are concerned after Saliterro made “statements of self-harm towards himself.”
“We currently have 13 deputies and 35 search and rescue volunteers actively searching for the suspect and child,” the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said at 5:35 p.m., minutes before the CHP issued the statewide Amber Alert.
Saliterro is described as a white female, 6 feet tall and 135 pounds, with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. Authorities said she was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with a black sports bra and blue jeans.
Maverick is 90 cm tall and has blond hair, styled in a mohawk.
Authorities are asking anyone who has seen the mother or boy not to approach them and to call 911.
What is an Amber Alert?
The system (the acronym stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) was created by the California Legislature in 2002 to notify communities of missing children and other at-risk individuals after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was found dead in Texas in 1996. kidnapped and murdered. It was brought to California after a similar incident involving 5-year-old Samantha Runnion in 2002, highlighting the need for such a program in the state.
As the CHP celebrated the program’s 20th anniversary in 2022, officials said the system has a 97% success rate in locating children in danger.
This Amber Alert, the first for the Sacramento region since the disappearance and subsequent death of Kiely Rodni, occurred just days before the introduction of the new Ebony Alert program on January 1.
It works similarly to the Amber Alert system, which activates electronic highway signs to post information about the missing person in a coordinated effort to locate the person. The Ebony Alert will be used for missing black youth ages 12 to 25.
Amber Alerts used to be issued through the National Weather Service, but the CHP has since partnered with FEMA to use their Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
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What is the role of the public in Amber Alert?
The CHP lists the following advice on how people can help activate and respond to the alerts.
If you witness a child abduction, call 911 immediately to report it quickly. Be sure to record important information such as the physical characteristics of the child and suspect, the make and model of the vehicles involved (including license plate numbers if possible), and the precise location of the abduction.
If you hear an Amber Alert, pay attention to the child, suspect and vehicle described in the alert. Report any sightings immediately by calling 911 or the telephone number provided with the alert. (Do not call 911 to ask for information about the kidnapping.)
