"As a mother, I'm extremely frustrated," said Franciene Black.
Police and the FBI say Andrew Joshua Tafoya disappeared with the 15-year-old girl into Mexico seven months after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex with her.
Authorities suspect Tafoya used a stolen car when he left with Chioma Gray on Dec. 13. Tafoya is charged with child stealing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, vehicle theft and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Black criticized Ventura police for failing to issue an Amber Alert when her daughter disappeared. One of the girl's brothers, and her father, Desm
ond Gray, dropped the Buena High School student off at the Ventura school Dec. 13.But Sgt. Jack Richards, a spokesman for Ventura police, said it would not have been appropriate to issue an Amber Alert. For starters, investigators do not think Gray was abducted but rather that she voluntarily left with Tafoya. Moreover, Gray was not "in immediate danger of death" when she disappeared, Richards said.
It is difficult to believe that a 15-year old white girl would go missing from her school without an amber alert. I think that Chioma Gray was discounted by law enforcement officials because she was a Black young girl. What say u?
