Florida Amber Alert sent to phones today. What we know about kidnapped child, alert system
Anyone with information about this case was asked to call 911 or Broward County Sheriff's Office at 954-764-4357.
- For more information about 4-year-old Seraphina Gingles or other missing children, visit missingkids.org.
Editor's note: The Amber Alert for 4-year-old Seraphina Gingles was canceled Feb. 17, 2025, a day after it was issued in Florida. Authorities said the child is safe. For more information, call the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
Original story posted Feb. 16, 2025:
An Amber Alert was issued in Broward County, Florida, about 10:08 a.m. ET Sunday, Feb. 16, for a missing 4-year-old girl.
An Amber Alert, or a child abduction emergency alert, is a message distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding abducted children. AMBER is a backronym for "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response."
Why did I get an Amber alert on my phone? What to know about Seraphina Gingles of Florida
Seraphina Gingles, 4, of Tamarac, Florida, was reported missing Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. She is white with blonde hair, brown eyes, about 3 feet tall and weighs 50 pounds. Authorities said she was last seen wearing light-colored clothing. The vehicle information is a 2016 silver BMW X3 model (an SUV) with a Texas license plate, 5DV2950.
Authorities said Seraphina Gingles was last seen in the area of the 5800 block of Plum Bay Parkway in Tamarac, Florida. Mary Gingles, a 34-year-old white female, who is 5-feet-2-inches tall and 100 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes was last seen wearing an orange flower shirt and tan shorts. They may be in the company of Nathan Gingles, a 43-year-old white man who is 6-feet tall and weighs 200 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing all black clothing.
If spotted, do not approach and call law enforcement.
Where is Tamarac, Florida? Map shows Tamarac, Florida, is near Fort Lauderdale
Tamarac, Florida, is in Broward County in the Southeastern part of the Sunshine State. Tamarac is near Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
What should I do if I spot a missing child from an alert?
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call 911 or Broward County Sheriff's Office at 954-764-4357.
"If located, do not approach," FDLE says. "Contact law enforcement immediately."
FDLE says if anyone sees the child, abductor and/or vehicle in question, they should contact their local law enforcement agency or 911 with the information including:
- location
- street address or highway
- clothing description
- physical characteristics
- any observable behaviors on the part of the abductor or child
- The time caller witnessed the sighting
Why is it called an Amber Alert?
That effort came in response to the case of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who had been abducted and killed in Arlington, Texas in 1996.
The first Amber Alert program following her murder, with Dallas-Ft. Worth radio and television stations banding together to use the federal Emergency Alert System to quickly broadcast news of child abductions, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Soon after, AMBER, for “America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response,” became part of federal and state laws.
What is the Florida AMBER Plan?
According to the state's website, the Florida Amber Plan is an Alert that is "issued through radio, television, highway Dynamic Message Signs, lottery machines, missingchildrenalert.com, and other resources that have been made available when a child abduction occurs."
The plan is meant to alert the public in a much broader scope than just the immediate area of the abduction.
How is an Amber Alert activated in Florida?
Five criteria have to be met before an Amber alert can be issued in Florida:
- The child is under the age of 18
- Law enforcement has a well-founded belief, based on an active investigation, that a kidnapping has occurred
- Law enforcement has a well-founded belief, based on an active investigation, that the child is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury
- There is a detailed description of the child and or the abductor/vehicle to broadcast to the public
- The law enforcement agency of jurisdiction recommends the activation
How do I sign up for Amber Alerts?
If an alert is active in your area, it should automatically appear on your phone. You can also sign up for social media accounts that will notify you when an Amber Alert is issued:
- On Facebook: Visit www.facebook.com/AMBERAlert and “Like” the page to receive Amber Alerts in your newsfeed. Facebook also automatically notifies users near the location of an Amber Alert.
- On Instagram: If an Amber Alert is activated by law enforcement and you are in the designated search area, the alert will appear in your Instagram feed.
- On Twitter: Follow @AMBERAlert to receive rapid Amber Alert notifications on your Twitter feed and share the alert with your followers
(This story was updated with new information.)