Surrey RCMP is updating the public that the missing 12-year-old female youth who was last seen on May 15, 2023 has been located safe in Vancouver.
Thank you to the public, media as well as our policing and community partners for their assistance.
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The Surrey RCMP says the disappearance of 12-year-old Akila Geng more than a week ago did not warrant an Amber Alert.
Early Sunday morning, the Surrey detachment issued a press release stating Geng had been missing for a week.
She was last seen at 4 a.m. on May 15 in the 9100-block of 136A Street, which is just east of King George Boulevard, north of Bear Creek Park and close to Creekside Elementary, where Geng is a Grade 7 student.
Surrey RCMP spokesperson S/Sgt. Kris Clark said police were notified on May 17 that Geng was missing.
On the Surrey RCMP Facebook page, several people questioned why there was a weeklong gap between Geng’s disappearance and the public appeal, as well as why there is no Amber Alert.
Clark said that a particular criteria that must be met before an Amber Alert is issued. That includes that police have grounds to believe the person under 18 has been abducted or they are in imminent danger.
“The circumstances of this missing youth investigation does not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert,” Clark said.
“When a youth goes missing, no matter the circumstances, the police, community partners, and the public work together to help bring them home safely.”
Clark would not say where or with whom Geng was living before she went missing.
