Riverside police are searching for 17-year-old Abigail Marin, who vanished Saturday afternoon and hasn't been seen since. She was last spotted on the 5900 block of Clifton Boulevard sometime between 1:55 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans and pink Nike Dunks shoes. Marin left home without a cell phone or any other way to communicate, and police say she has no history of running away.
According to MyNewsLA.com, Marin is described as Hispanic, 5 feet 6 inches tall and about 150 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. Police also said she has no known history of mental health issues or medical conditions. The Riverside Police Department has asked anyone with information to call its communications center at 951-354-2007.
In a public notice posted Monday, the Riverside Police Department formally classified Marin as an “At Risk Runaway Juvenile” and assigned her case report number 260023059 — the number community members are asked to reference when submitting tips. The department's notice repeats the same last-seen window and location already reported: the 5900 block of Clifton Boulevard between 1:55 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
No Waiting Period for Reporting a Missing Teen
Some families mistakenly believe police require a 24- to 48-hour delay before accepting a missing-person report. That is not the case. Under California Penal Code Section 14211, police and sheriff's departments statewide are legally required to accept missing juvenile reports — including runaways — immediately and to treat them as a priority over property crimes, according to the California Department of Justice.
Once a report is filed, state regulations require the case to be entered into the DOJ's automated Missing Persons System through the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, per the same agency. That system shares the report across local police, county sheriffs, the California Highway Patrol and state investigators, helping widen the search beyond a single department's jurisdiction.
Riverside County's Broader Missing-Youth Trend
Marin's disappearance lands amid a documented rise in missing-child reports across the region. Data compiled by the California Department of Justice shows Riverside County ranked second among the state's 58 counties for total missing child reports as of mid-2026, according to KESQ. Regional coverage has pointed to growing concern over runaway teenagers across Inland Southern California.
Nationally, runaway incidents made up the overwhelming majority of the missing child cases the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children supported in 2025, the organization reported in its 2025 impact report. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, it supported 32,167 missing-children cases in 2025, with runaway incidents accounting for 92% of those cases. The same report discusses the risk of child sex trafficking or sexual exploitation, a concern child safety advocates cite when urging rapid public attention for teens who, like Marin, are without a phone. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said it assisted law enforcement with 29,568 missing-children cases in 2024 and helped bring 91% of them home.
Why Amber Alerts Don't Always Apply
Why Amber Alerts Don't Always Apply Amber Alerts are used in serious abduction cases, according to LegiScan. California lawmakers also passed Senate Bill 673, known as the Ebony Alert, according to the source. The notice includes details like Marin's case number and distinctive pink Nike Dunks.
Anyone with information can call the Riverside Police Department's communications center, or visit the department's Magnolia Station at 10540 Magnolia Avenue to report in person.
The NCMEC report cited above found a 90 percent overall recovery rate for its cases. Police have not indicated they suspect foul play in Marin's case, but her lack of a phone and prior clean history of never running away have driven the urgency behind the search.
