A 16-year-old girl who vanished from South Sacramento more than two weeks ago is now the subject of a regional Ebony Alert covering three Northern California counties. Azaria Higginbotham was last seen near Meadowhaven Drive and Power Inn Road at approximately 4 p.m. on September 4, and investigators believe she may be traveling on foot.
The California Highway Patrol issued the alert on behalf of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, according to The Sacramento Bee. The notice covers Sacramento, Alameda and San Joaquin counties, and it describes Higginbotham as roughly 5-foot-4 and 109 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a gray tank top and pumpkin-colored shorts. Anyone who spots her is asked to call 911, per the same report.
Countryside Community Park is identified in filings with the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research CEQAnet. The alert was issued on behalf of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
How the Alert Gets Built and Broadcast
All missing-person alerts in California, including Ebony Alerts, are centrally evaluated and dispatched around the clock by CHP's Emergency Notification and Tactical Alert Center, or ENTAC, headquartered in Sacramento, according to the California Highway Patrol. ENTAC coordinates directly with local agencies like sheriff's departments to review criteria before launching a regional or statewide notice.
The notice for Higginbotham spans Sacramento, Alameda and San Joaquin counties, though it remains unclear why more than two weeks passed between Higginbotham's September 4 disappearance and Tuesday's public activation of the alert.
A Law Born From a National Disparity
California's Ebony Alert system, created under Senate Bill 673 and sponsored by the NAACP California Hawaii State Conference, took effect January 1, 2024, becoming the first law in the nation built specifically for missing Black youth and young women ages 12 to 25, according to the Black and Missing Foundation. The bill was authored by Sen. Steven Bradford and enacted in October 2023. It allows law enforcement to ask the public for help in cases involving the suspicious or unexplained disappearance of a Black woman or Black person, and is meant to help locate those considered endangered because of age or the circumstances of their disappearance.
A major catalyst for the law was the tendency of law enforcement to classify missing Black youth as voluntary runaways, a label that can make them ineligible for standard Amber Alerts, according to CalMatters. That runaway classification can prevent eligibility for a standard Amber Alert. A legislative analysis cited during SB 673's passage also found that Black women and girls account for roughly 40% of identified sex trafficking victims nationwide, a risk factor explicitly built into the law's expanded criteria covering youth up to age 25, according to the California State Senate Committee on Public Safety.
The disparities behind the law are stark. Black youth make up about 38% of all missing children cases reported nationwide despite Black residents accounting for only 14% of the U.S. population, per data from the Black and Missing Foundation.
Recent Ebony Alerts
Higginbotham's case follows a string of recent Ebony Alerts across the state, including an August alert for a missing 13-year-old girl in Inglewood and a January alert for a missing 15-year-old in Lawndale.
Law enforcement searched for Higginbotham. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to call 911.
