Ebony Alert issued for missing girl who may be heading to Sacramento area

Authorities are asking for help locating a missing 12-year-old girl who may be in the Sacramento area. The California Highway Patrol has issued an Ebony Alert for Tiana Carter, who was last seen around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in Ventura County at the corner of Harper Drive and Santa Margarita Road. Officials suspect she may be headed to Northern California in an unknown vehicle. The CHP has issued the alert for Ventura, Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties. Carter is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall and 185 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. The CHP said she was last seen wearing a black and orange shirt and glasses. Ebony Alerts differ from Amber Alerts in that they are intended to assist in the search for missing black girls and young women. California was the first state in the U.S. to implement this unique alert system when Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 673. The Ebony Alert works similarly to Amber and Silver Alerts. According to the Black and Missing Foundation, 38% of people reported missing in the U.S. are black. But because of certain classifications that are disproportionately assigned to missing black youth, Amber Alerts often go unsent, and these black children and young women slip down the police priority list.