The Los Angeles Police Department is actively searching for two young brothers, ages 2 and 10, who were reported missing in the Westlake District of Los Angeles in the early hours of Thursday. According to NBC Los Angeles, the children vanished from an apartment located at the 300 block of South Virgil Avenue. Despite limited information regarding the circumstances of their disappearance, the LAPD continues to comb the neighborhood where they were last seen.
AMBER Alert - Los Angeles County
— CHP - Alerts (@CHPAlerts) August 21, 2025
Last seen: W. 52nd St. and Halldale Ave., Los Angeles@LAPDMPU
IF SEEN, CALL 9-1-1 pic.twitter.com/XjhpQ1LNnq
FOX LA reports that the missing youths are in foster care and were reported missing by their caretakers around 1:30 a.m. from their home near Lafayette Park. It is believed that the brothers may have tried to leave on their own, possibly in an attempt to return to their biological mother's residence in the Vermont Square neighborhood of South LA. The LAPD has deployed K-9 units to aid in the search and is in communication with the Department of Children and Family Services to distribute their pictures.
The California Highway Patrol has identified the missing boys as Dereck Rodriguez and Jaden Hernandez. Authorities have named 30-year-old Jackeline Hernandez-Torres as a suspect in the case. Photos and descriptions of both the children and the suspect were released through an Amber Alert, as per ABC7.
