A 14-year-old girl is missing after she was last seen walking alone near the 6400 block of Field Street in Arvada’s Scenic Heights neighborhood Thursday afternoon, and investigators say they are concerned for her safety. Meriyeins “Anthonella” Martin-Acuna was last spotted at 4:50 p.m. on Thursday, October 1, 2026, on foot in the area, according to authorities.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued an endangered missing person alert for Martin-Acuna, as reported by The Denver Post. Law enforcement has expressed concern for her safety, per the alert cited in that report. Martin-Acuna is described as Hispanic, standing 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighing 94 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
At the time she went missing, she was wearing a black zip hoodie, black pants and pink slippers, the outlet’s report notes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the Arvada Police Department at 303-980-7300.
What an Endangered Missing Alert Means
The alert issued in Martin-Acuna’s case falls under a specific designation used when a disappearance does not meet the criteria for other, more widely known alerts. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, an Endangered Missing Alert, also called a Media Alert, is a notification to the media and public containing information about a missing person and the circumstances of the disappearance when the case does not meet statutory criteria for another type of alert.
The agency's Missing Person(s) Unit, which handles cases like this one, assists local law enforcement and partner organizations in locating and recovering missing children and adults. Per the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the unit also manages the state's Missing Person Alert Program and functions as Colorado's clearinghouse for such cases.
A Recent Arvada Case Ended in Minutes
Arvada has seen at least one other high-profile missing child case resolve quickly in recent weeks. An 8-year-old boy was found safe on Sept. 22 shortly after law enforcement issued an Amber Alert reporting him missing from the city, the same outlet's earlier report notes. In that case, the boy's grandfather had taken him from an apartment in the 9000 block of Oberon Road in Arvada around 9:30 a.m., and Sheridan and Englewood police located the pair in Sheridan roughly 10 minutes after the alert went out; the grandfather was arrested and faced multiple charges.
There is no indication the two cases are connected, and the circumstances surrounding Martin-Acuna's disappearance remain under investigation. Authorities have not released additional details beyond her last known location and description, and anyone who may have seen her is urged to contact the Arvada Police Department immediately.
