A 16-year-old girl last seen at Hollister Avenue and South La Patera Lane in Goleta has triggered an Ebony Alert spanning three Southern California counties. Solay Nixon was last seen there at approximately 8:15 a.m., wearing a red top and blue ripped jeans.
The California Highway Patrol activated the alert Tuesday, according to a post from CHP - Alerts, which tagged @sbsheriff.
. Nixon is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall, 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone who sees her is asked to call 911.
Why an Ebony Alert and Not an AMBER Alert
Nixon's case is the subject of an Ebony Alert rather than the more widely known AMBER Alert. Ebony Alerts cover Black youth and young adults ages 12 to 25 and do not require proof of abduction, according to CBS Los Angeles, which describes AMBER Alert criteria as strict and related to abduction cases. Under California law, the alert can be activated when a person in that age range goes missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, including risks of physical danger or environmental peril, after local resources have been used, per the California Highway Patrol.
The alert covers Los Angeles, Riverside and Santa Barbara counties.
A Law Born From Years of Overlooked Cases
California's Ebony Alert system was established under Senate Bill 673, signed into law in October 2023 and effective January 1, 2024, making it the nation's first alert system specifically built to help locate missing Black youth and young women. State Senator Steven Bradford created the law to address a pattern in which missing Black youth were historically misclassified by police as runaways, a label that delayed investigations and kept cases out of emergency broadcasts, according to the LA Sentinel.
The push for the law followed sobering federal data. LAist reports that Black youth made up roughly 39% of missing children reported nationwide in 2022, citing National Crime Information Center data.
The California Highway Patrol manages Ebony Alerts, sharing alert information through electronic highway signs and social media. Hoodline has covered another Ebony Alert case in recent weeks, including one for a missing 16-year-old girl. It remains unknown whether investigators suspect foul play or human trafficking in Nixon's disappearance, or whether surveillance footage near the Goleta transit corridor has produced any verified sightings. Anyone with information on Solay Nixon's whereabouts is urged to call 911.
