CHP cancels Amber Alert, believes Oakland parties knew one another
OAKLAND -- The California Highway Patrol late Wednesday afternoon canceled an Amber Alert after Oakland police determined the suspect in the alleged carjacking and kidnapping knew the purported victims.
They also learned the girl in the car, who earlier was described as a 13-year-old, is an adult and was not taken against her will.
Authorities earlier identified Roy McCamey, a 54-year-old African American man, as a person of interest in connection with the incident, which occurred at an Oakland Safeway in the 4100 block of Redwood Road about 12:50 p.m. Tuesday.
Police are still searching for him.
A man matching McCamey’s description was reportedly seen shoplifting lobster and rib-eye steaks from the Safeway. Witnesses said he brandished a knife, fled and got into a red or burgundy sedan with an elderly man and a girl inside.
Witnesses reported the man and the girl could be heard yelling that they did not know the suspect. Though no one was ever reported missing, casting some doubt on the prospect of a kidnapping, police said they had to treat the incident as a carjacking and kidnapping until the parties were located.
“We would be negligent if we did not,” Oakland police spokeswoman Johnna Watson told the Oakland Tribune.
On Wednesday, Watson told the newspaper that police had spoken to the driver and learned all three people in the car knew one another, and the girl is an adult. Police say they no longer think a carjacking or kidnapping occurred.
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Twitter: @leeromney
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