A 2-month-old girl has been missing for a week from a supportive housing complex in Portland's South Tabor neighborhood, and state child welfare officials say they believe she is in danger. Dakota Simone Williams disappeared on August 20 from the Findley Apartments at 3440 SE 54th Ave, and authorities believe she may still be somewhere in the surrounding area.
The Oregon Department of Human Services Child Welfare Division has asked the public for help locating the infant, who is believed to be in the company of her mother, according to KATU. The Portland Police Bureau is handling the case under report number 26-249427, and searchers believe Dakota is likely still in the Findley Apartments area, which spans roughly between 43rd and 60th avenues, and between Division Street and Powell Boulevard, an area that includes Creston Park.
Dakota, who also goes by her first name, is about two months old, white, and female, but the station's report notes that her height, weight, hair color and eye color remain unknown. ODHS said it could not provide additional details about the case because of privacy and confidentiality laws, a limitation consistent with Oregon Revised Statute 409.225, which keeps child welfare records, files and communications confidential and shields them from public inspection.
Why No Amber Alert Was Issued
Notably, the case has not triggered a statewide Amber Alert. Under Oregon State Police guidelines, that emergency system activates only when law enforcement confirms a minor age 17 or younger was abducted, is in imminent danger of serious physical injury or death, and enough descriptive information about a suspect or vehicle exists to help the public respond. Instead, the case has been logged with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children under report number 2099436, a designation that lets case details broadcast across a digital tracking network reaching users within a 50-mile radius, per the Oregon State Police missing children clearinghouse.
Oregon law also lays out a strict administrative clock for cases like this one. State policy requires ODHS caseworkers to notify local law enforcement and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children within 24 hours of learning a child in state care is missing, while Oregon Revised Statute 181A.310 requires officers who have probable cause to suspect custodial interference or kidnapping to notify the state's missing children clearinghouse within the same 24-hour window.
Search Site Sits on Veterans Housing Property
The Findley Apartments search zone centers on Findley Commons, a 35-unit permanent supportive housing development that opened in 2022 to serve formerly unhoused veterans. The project was built through a partnership involving Do Good Multnomah, Home First Development, and St. Mark's Lutheran Church, constructed on donated church property with Metro bond funding and federal HUD-VASH rental assistance, according to Metro.
Portland Police Bureau Directive 0850.39 prohibits officers from declining to take a missing person report for anyone under 21 regardless of the circumstances, and it mandates immediate on-scene searches with no waiting period before a report is accepted, according to the City of Portland. Separately, Directive 0640.30 requires that child abuse or severe endangerment investigations be handled through a multi-disciplinary team approach, with cross-notifications sent to ODHS, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, and CARES Northwest.
How the Public Can Help
ODHS is asking anyone who believes they have spotted Dakota to call 911 or local law enforcement rather than approach the child or her mother directly. The state's Child Abuse Hotline, 1-855-503-SAFE (7233), operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, serving as a centralized statewide intake line for abuse reports, neglect concerns, and missing child tips across all 36 Oregon counties.
While ODHS has publicly stated its belief that the infant is in danger, custodial allegations surrounding the case remain subject to ongoing law enforcement and judicial review, and state confidentiality law limits what officials can say about the family's history with the child welfare system. It's a pattern of limited disclosure Hoodline has also seen in other recent Oregon child welfare searches, including the case of a Redmond boy who vanished with his father last year.
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