SEASIDE, Calif.- Seaside police have all hands on deck for a missing 12 year old girl. Her name, Kayli Rickard, and officers say she ran off with her 19 year old boyfriend, Eli Escobar Garcia.
Officers say Rickard left her school around 9pm Tuesday morning, after her parents found out who she was dating.
Wednesday, Seaside police alerted the border patrol and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigators said they are taking every step available even though they have not issued an Amber Alert.
"She was very upset that I went to the police in regards to whatever relationship they do have. I'm not ok with a 19 year old and a 12 year old," said Stacy Forstell, Kayli's mother.
It was then Forstell said she got a letter from her 12 year old daughter. It said she was running away with her 19 year old boyfriend Eli Escobar Garcia. That letter is why Seaside police said they can't request an Amber Alert.
"We obtained information that she left willingly which we can't establish that an abduction has taken place," said Sgt. Bruno Dias.
But that doesn't mean Dias and his Street Crime Team isn't doing everything in their power to bring Kayli back home safe.
"The entire PD is on the look out, the information has been disseminated."
Infact as of Wednesday, Kayli's face is all over southern California and at the border, "We've contacted border protection and Homeland Security."
The department activated "Team Adam." If you don't know what this is, it's modeled after Adam Walsh the Florida boy who was abducted and murdered in 1981.
The program is run through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. With that agency's man power, it puts Kayli's picture in areas where investigators think she may be.
The center also sends an investigator to Seaside to work with the team, "...Because they are used to dealing with these cases, so often they've established a network of people they can call in cases involving people that go to certain regions," said Dias.
"I'm sick to my stomach I want my daughter back and I want her home safe. It's the worst feeling to not know where your child is and to know that she could be in danger," said Forstell.
That's something Seaside police are determined to not let happen, "She's only 12 years old and we want her back."
CHP requires four specific criteria for local law enforcement to have before issuing an Amber Alert:
1) There has to be proof an actual abduction occured
2) There must be proof the child is in imminent danger
3) There must be enough information, that if given to the public, it could help recover the child
4) The child has to be 17 years or younger
If you have any information on Kayli Rickard or Eli Escobar Garcia, call Seaside police at
831-899-6282. You can remain anonymous.
