What is an Ebony Alert?

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The California Highway Patrol issued two Ebony Alerts for missing Bay Area teenagers within the past week. One was issued for a 17-year-old girl, Morgan Crenshaw, who vanished in Antioch. The second was issued for Amarie Woods, a 15-year-old girl who went missing in Oakland on Sept. 28.

When Ebony Alerts are posted by law enforcement on social media, comments asking about the alert system usually follow.

California is the first state in the country that created Ebony Alerts, a system dedicated to finding missing Black juveniles and young adults between ages 12 to 25.

Criteria for issuing an alert includes several factors: the person went missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, the person’s physical safety may be endangered, or person may be a victim of human trafficking.

The California Statewide Ebony Alert Program was introduced through Senate Bill 673 and became law in January of 2024. A Bay Area lawmaker who co-sponsored the legislation, State Senator Aisha Wahab, said data shows the law is making a difference in the lives of at-risk youths.

“These are incredibly vulnerable people. As a person who grew up in the foster care system, children of color in particular are largely overlooked,” Wahab said. She explained that Ebony Alerts help garner attention on social media to alert more members of the public.

In 2024, 27 missing people were found and returned home using the Ebony Alert system, Wahab said. The first-ever alert helped bring a 17-year-old girl back home safe.

Wahab, who is a former Hayward City Council member, said one case stands out as a tragedy that may have been avoided if Ebony Alerts existed at the time. Sophia Mason was just 8-years-old when her family reported her missing in Hayward to law enforcement in early 2022. They warned that Sophia was in danger with her mentally unstable mother, and they were trying to reunite Sophia with her grandmother.

“She was murdered. The reality is, she missed school for weeks. If this was in place then, we would have had more eyes looking for this little girl,” Wahab said.

Investigators found Sophia’s lifeless body on March 11, 2022. Her mother and mother’s boyfriend were charged with murder.

Ebony Alerts are one of seven types of official alerts recognized in California. The state also utilizes Amber, Silver, Blue, Feather, and Yellow alerts, as well as Endangered Missing Advisory.