Boy found after Amber Alert issued for possible Northern California abduction

Northern California authorities have called off an Amber Alert early Thursday after a 5-year-old child suspected of being abducted from Calaveras County was located with his father.

The California Highway Patrol issued the Amber Alert shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday after the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office reported the child was taken near the rural community of Wallace, located just south of Camanche Reservoir and about 40 miles southeast of Sacramento. The boy was last seen about 8:25 p.m. and was believed to have been taken by his father, a 29-year-old man.

The alert appeared on freeway message boards across parts of Northern California, including in the Bay Area, and remained active for roughly three hours before it was deactivated by the CHP just before 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

Authorities confirmed the pair had been “located” but did not release details on where they were located or whether they were safe. The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office and the CHP have not announced whether an arrest was made.

The Sheriff’s Office was expected to provide an update later Thursday morning.

What is an Amber Alert?

Amber Alerts were designed to quickly notify the public about child abductions and other at-risk missing children. The program — which stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response — was created after the 1996 abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman in Texas and was adopted in California in 2002 following the killing of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion.

The California Highway Patrol administers the statewide alert system, which uses cellphone alerts, freeway message signs and broadcast media to rapidly share information with the public. Authorities have said the system has helped recover hundreds of children in California.

This story was originally published December 25, 2025 at 1:06 AM.