Turquoise Alert Issued for Missing 16-Year-Old Girl, Family Say It’s ‘Out of Character’ for Her to Not Return Home

Authorities in Arizona are appealing to the public for help in finding a missing teenage girl.

On Sunday, Nov. 2, officials in Mesa, Arizona, issued a statewide Turquoise Alert for 16-year-old Yolyn Hermios. The City of Mesa Police Department shared the alert and a photo of the missing teen on Facebook, describing her as missing and endangered.

Hermios was last seen around 6:50 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, near Broadway Rd. and Dobson Rd., according to Mesa police. “She has not been seen or heard from since,” the earlier alert stated. “Family is concerned for her welfare since it is out of character for her to be gone for an extended period of time.”

The teen, who is Pacific Islander, was last seen wearing red shorts, a black shirt, and black shoes. She has brown hair with green-faded highlights, brown eyes, stands 4 feet 11 inches tall, and weighs about 110 pounds.

Four hours after the alert was issued, a spokesperson for the Mesa Police Department said there were no updates available at that time.

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS), Turquoise Alerts are designed “to locate the missing endangered person through efficient information dissemination and communication that results in the safe and expedient recovery.”

The system, also known as Emily’s Law, was named after 14-year-old Emily Pike, who went missing from a Mesa group home in January. A month later, her remains were found near the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. The law was created “to honor and memorialize the life” of Pike, who was a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the AZDPS website states.

Turquoise Alerts are only issued when specific criteria are met. The missing individual must be under the age of 65, and the law enforcement agency must have already used all available local resources in the search.

Additionally, the person must have disappeared under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, and police must determine that they are not a runaway, unless there are aggravating factors suggesting they are missing and endangered. Authorities must also believe the person may be in danger, with a potentially dangerous individual, or otherwise at risk.

Finally, the alert requires that there is information which, if shared with the public, could aid in the safe recovery of the missing individual.