A seven-year-old girl named Carleigh is missing from Fairfield County, South Carolina, and authorities believe she was taken by her estranged father during what they say may be a mental health episode. The pair were last seen around 5:40 p.m. Friday on Mobley Highway, and deputies fear they could be heading toward the Rock Hill area.
According to the WIS News 10 report, the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office says Carleigh and her father are believed to be traveling in a white Chevrolet Silverado with damage to the right side. A public alert circulating on Facebook adds a more specific detail, describing the damage as concentrated along the lower portion of the front passenger-side door — a detail investigators hope will help someone spot the truck before it gets much farther.
Authorities say the mental health episode her father is believed to be experiencing jeopardizes Carleigh's safety, though the exact nature of that crisis has not been detailed publicly. The sheriff's office is asking anyone who spots the vehicle to call 911 immediately rather than approach Carleigh, her father, or the truck directly.
Why Rock Hill Is the Focus of the Search
Mobley Highway, where the pair was last seen, feeds into regional routes that connect northern Fairfield County toward larger transit corridors, according to Fairfield County government planning documents. Northern Fairfield County sits roughly 28 miles south of Rock Hill, linked primarily through regional roads and Interstate 77 by way of neighboring Chester County — the same corridor deputies believe the father and daughter may be following.
Fairfield County itself is a largely rural stretch of land sandwiched between Columbia and Charlotte, spanning about 710 square miles. The county's sheriff's office is led by Sheriff Will Montgomery, who has held the post since taking office in November 2014.
What Witnesses Are Being Told to Do
Official guidance for cases like this one is consistent: do not confront the subject. Public safety protocols for active family abductions involving a suspected mental health crisis instruct witnesses not to approach directly, since a sudden confrontation in public can escalate an already volatile situation and increase risk to the child, a rationale echoed in guidance from the Greenville Police Department. Instead, witnesses are told to note the location, direction of travel, and any other details they can safely observe, then report them right away.
It remains unclear whether formal custody orders exist between Carleigh's parents or whether any criminal charges have been filed. Under South Carolina law, taking or concealing a child in violation of a custody order — known as custodial interference — is a distinct felony offense from general kidnapping, punishable by up to five years in prison, according to the state legislature's code as detailed by the Max Hyde Law Firm.
Why This Isn't (Yet) a Statewide AMBER Alert
No AMBER Alert has been issued in connection with Carleigh's disappearance, and the case underscores just how narrow the threshold is for one. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division requires four specific conditions be met before an AMBER Alert can go out statewide, including confirmed proof of an unlawful abduction and evidence the child faces immediate danger of death or serious harm, per SLED. Local agencies must formally request activation through SLED headquarters, and the child's identifying information must first be entered into the FBI's National Crime Information Center database before any alert can be authorized.
South Carolina does have another tool for cases involving mental health concerns: the state's Endangered Person Notification System, created under state code, lets SLED issue rapid public advisories and activate Department of Transportation electronic highway signs when a missing person case involves severe mental health or cognitive issues rather than meeting the standard abduction criteria for an AMBER Alert. Whether that system will be activated as the search continues has not been announced.
How Common Are Family Abductions
Cases like Carleigh's are not rare, though they remain a small share of the missing-children reports law enforcement handles each year. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children assisted with more than 32,000 missing child reports nationwide in 2025, and family abductions have historically accounted for roughly 4% to 5% of all missing children cases reported to law enforcement — the second most common category after runaways.
On the ground, Fairfield County has more resources for a rural search than it did just a few years ago. The sheriff's office re-established a dedicated K-9 unit in March 2024 to help track missing persons across the county's rural terrain, according to WLTX, ending a gap in that capability that had stretched back to 2019. Anyone with information on Carleigh's whereabouts is urged to call 911 right away.
