A Newton County teenager who vanished from a Covington apartment complex last Thursday may be traveling toward Texas, according to deputies who are asking the public for help finding her. Royciya Parker stands 4 feet 11 inches tall, weighs about 120 pounds, and was last seen wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, shorts, and black and yellow fur-topped slides. Authorities have not released her exact age.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Parker was last seen near the Salem Glen Apartments on Salem Road in Covington, and authorities said she ran away from home before being reported missing after disappearing Thursday from Covington. Investigators believe she might be heading toward Texas, though the outlet reports that authorities have not specified whether she is traveling on foot, with another person, or via public transit. The Salem Glen complex sits off Salem Road near the Covington-Conyers border, a 256-unit property that offers direct access to Highway 138 and Interstate 20, according to Apartments.com — a corridor that runs westward toward Texas.
Why Deputies Issued a BOLO Instead of an Amber Alert
The Newton County Sheriff's Office asked the public for help locating Parker but did not trigger Georgia's statewide Levi's Call system, the state's version of an Amber Alert. Under Georgia Bureau of Investigation protocols, Levi's Call cannot be issued for runaway juveniles because the system strictly requires a confirmed child abduction involving imminent danger of serious injury or death, per the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. If a missing youth case were to later indicate severe danger, the state operates a Child Abduction Response Team through the GBI that can rapidly coordinate mutual aid from the Georgia State Patrol, the Emergency Management Agency, and other state entities.
The Newton County Sheriff's Office is headquartered at 15151 Alcovy Road NE in Covington and is led by Sheriff Ezell Brown, who was elected in 2008 as the county's first African American sheriff, according to the Georgia Sheriffs' Association. Anyone with information about Parker's whereabouts is urged to contact Investigator Rivers at 678-625-1418 or by email at [email protected]. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS.
National Databases Could Help Track Her Across State Lines
Because Parker's case is now believed to involve out-of-state travel, federal law under 42 U.S.C. § 671 requires law enforcement and child welfare agencies to immediately enter missing and runaway juvenile reports into the FBI's National Crime Information Center database, according to the Georgia Office of the Child Advocate. Those NCIC entries would allow Texas law enforcement to cross-reference Parker's missing status if she is stopped or encountered during travel.
The scale of these cases nationwide is significant. The FBI's National Crime Information Center logged approximately 349,557 missing youth reports in 2024, with the majority classified as runaways. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children assisted law enforcement with 29,568 missing child cases that same year and achieved a 91% resolution rate in bringing youth home safely, per the center's data.
A Recurring Challenge for Newton County Deputies
Runaway cases are a recurring operational focus for the Newton County Sheriff's Office, which has issued similar search alerts in the recent past, including for 17-year-old Tyshawn Riley in June 2026 and 14-year-old Hassi Johnson in May 2025. A clinical report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that roughly 1 in 20 adolescents run away from home annually, a pattern experts say places unaccompanied youth at heightened risk for trauma and health complications during extended episodes away from home.
For now, investigators say the search for Parker continues, with her possible route toward Texas the central lead deputies are pursuing. Anyone who spots her or has information relevant to her whereabouts is asked to reach out to the Newton County Sheriff's Office or Crime Stoppers.
