Anaheim Police Hunt for Missing Girl

More than a dozen Anaheim police officers and detectives spent most of Monday combing the area around the 900 block of Roberts Street for a missing 10-year-old girl. Erica Hernandez was reported missing by her foster parents about 9:15 a.m., just 30 minutes after taking the trash out and failing to return, police said.

“Any time somebody is that age or younger, we do tend to exert a lot of energy in locating them,” said Sgt. Rick Martinez, a spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department. “We hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”

He said police had asked neighbors if they had seen the girl, interviewed her friends at school and talked to her birth mother. Late Monday they were still searching for her birth father.

“We haven’t ruled out the possibility that a family member has taken her,” Martinez said.

Erica was described as having brown hair, brown eyes, of medium height and thin build and last seen wearing a black vest-type blouse with red print sleeves, black shorts and blue and white shoes. Anyone with information is asked to call the Anaheim Police Department at (714) 765-1900, or Det. Steve Witham at (714) 765-1960.