An 12-year-old Texas girl has been missing for a week, and police say she could be a sex-trafficking victim.
An Amber Alert has been issued for E’Minie Hughes, who was last seen on February 22, when E’Minie asked her mother to wake her early for school the next day.
But when Shannon Williams went to check later on, “she wasn’t there,” KHOU reported.
Williams reported the girl missing on Friday, but the Amber Alert wasn’t issued for five more days.
Houston Police told KPRC on Wednesday that they received “additional information” leading them to believe the girl may be a trafficking victim, which prompted the late Amber Alert. Police have also asked the FBI to assist.
“Everybody is depressed,” Williams told KHOU. “It’s depressing at this moment because we don’t have anything right now and the AMBER Alert is just being issued out.”
Police said they have home surveillance video showing a girl, believed to be E’Minie, running toward a dark Dodge Ram pickup truck just after 1:40 a.m. on Friday, but police haven’t said why that alone didn’t trigger an Amber Alert. Police told KTRK that the family said E’Minie has left home on her own in the past.
E’Minie didn’t have a phone. her mother said, but she did have a tablet, which she had when she left home.
“That’s what we were trying to see if we can find somebody to at least track the tablet down or try to find a way to get inside the tablet,” Williams said.
E’Minie is described as 4 feet 6 inches tall and 100 pounds with brown eyes and black hair. She was last seen wearing a white crop top and pink joggers.
Any information should contact Houston Police Patrol at (713) 884-3131 and/or Houston Police Missing Persons Unit at (832) 394-1840.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: E’Minie Hughes/handout]
