AMBER Alert For 3-Week-Old Utah Infant Canceled
Nov 22, 2019, 6:51 PM | Updated: 11:15 pm
CLINTON, Utah – Officials with the Clinton Police Department said the AMBER Alert for 3-week-old Audrey Westfall has been canceled.
The alert was issued Wednesday night when 25-year-old Taylor Webb was accused of abducting her biological 3-week-old daughter from the child’s maternal grandmother, who police said has custody of the child.
Webb said the baby is healthy and fine through her attorney on Friday and claimed to be the child’s actual guardian; police said the court order granting guardianship to the infant’s grandmother was still active.
Police said their investigation has been completed and the Davis County Attorney’s Office is declining to file criminal charges.
They also said Stanislaus County, California, District Attorney’s Office has also tentatively declined to file charges.
Detectives said at the time Clinton police issued the alert, the case met the four criteria required for an AMBER Alert.
Those criteria include: the child is under 17 years old, it’s believed an abduction has occurred, there is a belief the child is in danger and that there is information to release.
Lieutenant Shawn Stoker with the Clinton Police Department said Friday it was still the right thing to do.
“Every action that we took in this case, even until now, even though the Amber Alert has been lifted, every effort that we have made in this case was with the priority of verifying Audrey’s safety and her whereabouts and her location,” Stoker said. “And that concern remains in effect.”
That’s because even though the AMBER Alert has been lifted, Stoker said Westfall is still listed in a national missing child database because a court order in California doesn’t give Webb parental rights.
Ultimately, Stoker said issuing the AMBER Alert worked the way it was supposed to.
“In our line of work, information is so important,” he said. “We want to maintain the integrity of the AMBER Alert, if you will, in making sure it’s not used frivolously and when it’s used when those specific criteria are not met. The fact that we’re here today, and the fact that activity has been what it has been over the past few days, to me, proves that it still is very effective.”
Where the case goes from here and who will ultimately have custody of Westfall will be determined by the California court system.
