Police: Missing girl’s disappearance ‘raises a lot of concerns’

Wichita police have run out of leads in their search for a teen who has been missing since Saturday evening.

Mariana Gonzalez, 14, left her house in the 300 block of North Spruce without permission at about 5 p.m. and has not been found despite an extensive search, police officials said Monday.

She has mental disabilities and “that raises a lot of concerns for us,” said Wichita police Lt. Travis Rakestraw of the Exploited and Missing Child Unit. “We’re concerned about her welfare.”

Mariana has wandered away before, her family told police, but she has always returned home or been found a short distance away. An Amber Alert has not been issued, Rakestraw said, because there’s no evidence that she has been abducted.

Mariana was last seen walking west on a bike path near the 300 block of North Spruce. She is approximately 5-foot-7 and was last seen wearing a black tank top, black vest, black leggings and black flip-flops.

Along with police officers, EMCU detectives, K9 units and the police helicopter have been involved in the search, Rakestraw said. More officers joined the hunt Sunday, and businesses in the area will be canvassed Monday to see if any surveillance cameras happened to capture Mariana on video.

Law enforcement covered an area stretching from Murdock to Douglas and from Washington to Hillside, Rakestraw said.

“We need the public’s help” to find Mariana, he said.

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 8:22 AM with the headline "Police: Missing girl’s disappearance ‘raises a lot of concerns’."