Feather Alert issued after Indigenous teen goes missing in Sacramento County
The California Highway Patrol has issued a Feather Alert in three Northern California counties for a missing Indigenous teenager who was last seen in Sacramento County earlier this month.
Authorities are searching for Journey Cienfuegos, 14, a citizen of the Susanville Indian Rancheria. She was last seen about 9 p.m. Dec. 2 near Branch Center Road and Goethe Road in the Rosemont section of unincorporated Sacramento County, the CHP said on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office.
Cienfuegos is 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a pink shirt. The CHP believes she may be traveling on foot.
A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said Cienfuegos ran away from the county’s receiving home. The advisory is also activated for Yolo and Butte counties.
Authorities are asking the public to call 911 with any information on Cienfuegos’ whereabouts.
The Feather Alert is the emergency notification system for missing Native Americans in California. Similar to the Amber Alert, a Feather Alert is sent out when a Native person goes missing under “unexplainable or suspicious circumstances,” according to CHP.
The Feather Alert was created to reduce the number of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People cases in California. Currently, California has more than 150 documented cases, ranking it fifth in the nation for unsolved disappearances and deaths.
