A Feather Alert is circulating for 16-year-old Jared Babcock, who was last seen on Halloween afternoon near Leslie Avenue and Moffett Road in Ceres and is believed to be on foot. The California Highway Patrol says it was notified of the case on Nov. 3, activating the statewide alert at the request of local police nearly three days after the teenager was last spotted.
According to the alert posted by CHP - Alerts
, the Feather Alert was activated on behalf of the Ceres Police Department, with CHP confirming it was notified on Nov. 3, 2026. The alert describes Babcock as a missing person considered at risk, standing 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 272 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Investigators say Babcock was last seen at approximately 3:07 p.m. on Oct. 31 at Leslie Avenue and Moffett Road in Ceres, Stanislaus County. He was wearing a gray hoodie and red shoes at the time, and the alert lists his tribal affiliation as Bishop Paiute. Anyone who spots him is asked to call 9-1-1 immediately.
How the Feather Alert System Works
California's Feather Alert program was authorized to begin Jan. 1, 2023. The California Highway Patrol is the program's alerting authority. Its published criteria include a determination by the investigating agency that the person is missing and that available local and tribal resources have been used. Law enforcement agencies and California tribes may request an alert, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The program's track record has been a point of contention since its early days. The Sacramento Bee reported that only one alert was sent out during the system's first year, while the Los Angeles Times, reporting in January 2024, put the figure differently, stating that authorities had issued just two of five Feather Alerts that had been requested since the system began. Both accounts point to a slow start for a program meant to address a longstanding gap in missing-persons response for Native communities.
Usage has since climbed. California issued 45 Feather Alerts in 2025, according to CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee, and by May 2026 Duryee reported that 15 more had already been requested and issued that year alone, suggesting the pace has continued to accelerate.
What Alert Counts Can—and Can't—Show
The figures above describe alerts requested and issued; they do not, by themselves, show how many cases were resolved. In a separate Roseville case, The Sacramento Bee reported that a Feather Alert was issued Jan. 7, 2026, after a teen was reported missing from the Roseville area on New Year’s Eve. That case is distinct from Babcock’s, and the reported details here establish the alert timing, not its outcome. For broader context, the Federal Bureau of Investigation says its annual NCIC report summarizes missing and unidentified person entries and removals by calendar year, and separately lists reports on missing American Indian/Alaska Native persons. Those figures track entries and removals, not Feather Alert activations, so they are not directly comparable.
No update on Babcock's whereabouts has been released since the alert went out. Anyone with information is urged to call 9-1-1.
