AMBER Alert cancelled after four girls found safe in San Diego
Dec 12, 2021, 7:32 AM | Updated: 5:59 pm
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — An AMBER Alert was cancelled Sunday afternoon after it was put into effect overnight for four missing girls.
The sisters, ages 9 to 11, were reported missing from South Jordan by their father Saturday afternoon, South Jordan Police said. They were found in San Diego Sunday morning.
Lt. Matt Pennington explained that the girls disappeared around 10:45 am, and their father tried to search for them without success. He called police around 3 p.m.
Investigators determined that the four were likely with their mother, Allison Brimhall.
“They were in dad’s custody, and mom wasn’t supposed to have them without supervision,” Pennington explained. “Which was our concern, right, is mom isn’t supposed to have them for a reason — without getting into too many details — which concerned us that they’d been missing and nobody had contact or knew where they might be.”
A little more info from police– The four sisters ages 9-12 were found in San Diego with mom. They're now trying to coordinate getting the girls home, and evaluating what if any charges mom Allison Brimhall could face. #utah #amberalert @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/jYdlfX2HNt
— Lauren Steinbrecher (@LaurenSnews) December 12, 2021
Neighbors near where the family lived until recently told KSL-TV that Brimhall had been struggling with mental health issues, but they said she would never hurt the kids.
Those who know the family described how Brimhall recently expressed missing her daughters after Brimhall moved to California, and they believed she was doing what she felt was best for the four girls.
Even so, they were concerned for the girls’ safety, and so were police investigators and family members.
The Department of Public Safety said the request for the AMBER Alert came in too late Saturday for them to send notifications to cell phones, so they had to wait until Sunday morning.
DPS has a policy of avoiding AMBER Alert cell phone notifications between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., when people are usually asleep and unable to be on the lookout for suspect vehicles or suspects.
As soon as the clock hit 7 a.m. Sunday, they pushed out the alert statewide.
California also issued an AMBER Alert to residents, Pennington said.
Not five hours later, the girls were found safe with Brimhall in San Diego.
Family members told KSL-TV that they were grateful for the news and requested privacy.
Pennington said they’re making arrangements for the girls to return to Utah. He also said they are working with the district attorney’s office to see what, if any, charges Brimhall could face.
