Milwaukee police are asking the public for help finding a 17-year-old mother and her infant son who vanished from the city's North Side. Navaeh Austin and her 4-month-old son, Kareem Austin, were last seen together around 5:50 p.m. Wednesday in the 2900 block of West Chambers Street, and investigators have classified the case as critically missing.
Navaeh stands 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs about 100 pounds, and has black hair worn in a ponytail with blonde-dyed ends, brown eyes and a nose ring, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She was last seen wearing black leggings and a black Lululemon zip-up jacket, while Kareem was last seen wearing either a dinosaur-print or a basketball-themed onesie. Police describe Navaeh as a Black female.
What Critically Missing Status Means in Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Police Department reserves the critically missing designation for people with a physical, mental or cognitive disability, a drug dependency, an age of 11 or younger, or other severe at-risk factors that put them or others in immediate danger, according to Fox 6 Milwaukee. The station notes that families do not have to wait 24 hours to report a missing loved one and are urged to call their district station as soon as they realize someone at risk has disappeared.
Investigators Haven't Said Whether Foul Play Is Suspected
It remains unclear whether foul play is suspected in the disappearance, or whether Navaeh and Kareem left the Chambers Street address on foot or in a vehicle, according to CBS 58. The station also reported that it isn't yet known whether District 5 investigators have requested a statewide Missing Child Alert or a Wisconsin Crime Alert Network bulletin.
Why This Case Hasn't Triggered an AMBER Alert
Wisconsin's AMBER Alert plan can only be activated when a missing child is 17 or younger, is believed to be in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm, and police have enough detail about a suspect or vehicle to believe a public broadcast would help recover the child, per Amber Alert Wisconsin. Without evidence of an active abduction, that threshold has not been met, even in a case involving a teenager and an infant.
State lawmakers created a separate option in April 2024, when Wisconsin enacted the Prince Act, formally known as 2023 Wisconsin Act 272, establishing Missing Child Alerts for minors who are considered at risk but don't fit the strict abduction criteria for an AMBER Alert, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The law, named for 5-year-old Prince McCree, has been used far more often than AMBER Alerts: the department approved 17 Missing Child Alerts covering 14 children statewide between August 2024 and August 2025, compared with just four AMBER Alerts for five children over that same period.
A Seasonal Spike With a Wider Pattern
Milwaukee investigators have reported a 20% to 50% increase in critically missing person cases during summer months, driven by increased mobility, teens fleeing unsafe home situations and heightened outdoor activity, Fox 6 Milwaukee reported. A 2025 Wisconsin executive proclamation noted that more than 498,000 missing person entries were filed in the FBI's National Crime Information Center that year, with state officials pointing out that Black women and children make up a disproportionate share of Wisconsin's missing person cases, according to the State of Wisconsin Office of the Governor.
Milwaukee's District 5 Leads the Search
The search falls under Milwaukee Police District 5, based at 2920 N. Vel R. Phillips Avenue, which covers a 7.7-square-mile stretch of the North Side that includes the Amani and Harambee neighborhoods and serves more than 60,000 residents, according to the City of Milwaukee. The district has led several other recent searches for missing young people, including one that ended in a safe return for an 11-year-old girl in February. Anyone with information on Navaeh and Kareem's whereabouts is asked to call Milwaukee Police District 5 at 414-935-7252.
