A Florida missing child alert issued for a 4-year-old Miami girl who hadn't been seen in months was cancelled Wednesday after authorities said she was found safe.
Miami Police officials had said Tuesday that it was possible Carolina Rodriguez Vizcarra may have been with her mother and was said to be in danger of death or serious bodily injury.
But police said Wednesday that Vizcarra was in Mexico in good health, and has been with her maternal grandmother and grandfather since December.
Police said they saw her on Facebook Live, and released a new photo of her.
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Vizcarra was 3 years old when she was last seen on Dec. 28, 2022, in the area of the 200 block of Northwest 15th Street, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Detectives said the Department of Children and Families had not had contact with the child's mother since then.
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According to officials, the girl was thought to be with a woman, possibly her mother, also named Carolina Vizcarra, who was charged back in 2021 with child abandonment.
Police said at the time that she had walked into Mercy Hospital and left her daughter there with somebody without returning.
In court, the mother told a judge she was homeless and did not want her daughter living on the streets. The child was taken into DCF custody after her grandmother came forward.
Despite the child's disappearance occurring in December, on Tuesday Miami Police and FDLE issued a missing child alert.
According to Miami Police, DCF contacted the department last month about a court order. The department learned this month, however, that the girl's mother was in violation of a criminal Florida statute-interference with custody.
The mother had temporary custody of the girl in December when it's believed they traveled to Mexico, police said.
Officials said the mother is also in Mexico but will have to return to deal with DCF and the legal issues.
A DCF spokesperson issued a statement on the case on Thursday.
"Our Department contacted law enforcement in January of 2023, the day we became aware of the incident, to notify them of this missing child and to follow-up at least 10 times until the report was finally accepted in July, including Miami PD. Our Department continues to work with law enforcement on this investigation," the statement read. "The Department conducts investigations concerning all allegations of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Information regarding investigations is confidential per section 39.202, Florida Statutes."
