Amber Alert issued for missing girl

Team coveragePolice have issued an Amber Alert for a 7-year-old South Salt Lake girl who's been missing since Monday. They fear Hser Nay Moo is in danger.

The search for the girl began last night, has continued throughout the day and is expected to carry on until after dark. It covers about a mile and a half perimeter around the girl's home, and police say they'll keep the search going as long as they need to.

"We'll do it as long as it takes tonight, into the wee hours if we have to, and then gear up again for tomorrow if it's necessary," said South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder.

Investigators from the South Salt Lake Police Department and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office are following up on several leads they've received, including one they got from Michelle Neilson. She spoke exclusively to KSL Newsradio this afternoon.

She said she was at home last night watching the news when she first heard about the missing girl. When the picture of the girl came up on her TV screen, she remembered a little girl she had seen just a few hours earlier at a Chinese restaurant near the corner of State Street and 4500 South.

"She did look familiar. It was more the pink coat and also her look that did make me think it was her," Neilsen said.

She says the little girl was with a woman who occasionally would talk to the little girl. But she remembers the girl because she smiled at Neilson and stood next to her in the food line.

Hser Nay Moo was last seen yesterday afternoon around 2:00. She left her apartment, located near 2250 South and 500 East, to go play outside after an argument with her brother.

Police say someone in her complex did see her walking south toward 500 East, but she hasn't been seen since.

Because of her age and the time lapse, the investigation is now pointing to a kidnapping. That's why police issued an Amber Alert at 9:30 this morning. Right now, there is no evidence of foul play.

Family and friends looked for her, and neighbors called police around 6:30 Monday evening. Police searched for her, and then they did a second search in the dark. About 120 volunteers, plus a police helicopter and K9 unit, searched for her overnight.

Snyder said, "The likelihood she may have been injured and holed up somewhere over the course of the evening is dwindling for us. We're concerned that there is foul play involved given the age of this girl and the time frame she's been missing."

The police chief then added, "I'm very concerned, obviously. We're a very small community. Even though we're a very busy city, it's a very tight-knit community, and as you can see by the outpouring of support here, there's a lot of concern for this child, and our number one priority is to find her."

Gary Keller of the South Salt Lake Police Department says the FBI and the Utah State Attorney General's Child Abduction Response team are helping in the search today. Hundreds of volunteers are also helping in the search today.

Alice White and her family have been helping Hser Nay Moo's family since they came here as refugees last year. She says, "Now that it has been long enough time, I'm a little, I'm a lot more concerned."

She says the mother is not doing well. She says, "She been really sick, the mother. She has been in and out of the hospital since she had the baby."

White took two of the brothers around searching for their sister. In broken English, they told White that their sister is afraid. In other words, she is not the type to leave home and not come back.

Police are doing searches of the complex, as well as searches of cars. They are also interviewing registered sex offenders in the area. So far, they've interviewed 40 of them, and today 45 officers are doing another immediate search of the area.

The description of Hser Nay Moo is:

• 3 feet 8 inches tall
• 45 pounds
• long black hair
• missing her two front teeth
• wearing a pink coat, pink dress with pink Crocs (plastic shoes)

The family has been living in South Salt Lake since July and are from Burma. They believe the girl does speak enough English to understand the language.

Those interested in helping should meet at the LDS church building at 2290 S. 300 East.

If you have any information, call South Salt Lake police at 840-4000.

E-mail: syi@ksl.com
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com

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