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Ottawa County mom worried over daughter's disappearance, asks for help in bringing her home

Abby Hernandez alcantara.jpg
Posted at 12:21 PM, Oct 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-22 22:40:31-04

WRIGHT TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A West Michigan mother is pleading for help as police search for her pregnant 15-year-old daughter.

The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office is looking for Abigail Hernandez-Alcantara, who goes by Abby.

Deputies say Hernandez-Alcantara voluntarily left her home on Oct. 13 and was last seen at a home on Kenwood Avenue in Belding on Oct. 20.

"She's in 10th grade and she goes to Coopersville High School," said Virginia Alcantara, Abigail's mother, who spoke to FOX 17 through her oldest daughter's interpretation on Friday. "She likes to listen to music... She liked to go out with friends."

According to the sheriff’s office, Hernandez-Alcantara never boarded her school bus on the morning of the 13th and is believed to have been staying in the Belding area for last week.

The sheriff’s office says they don’t believe Hernandez-Alcantara is in danger, but she is pregnant.

Alcantara says a man in his early 20s, who is the father of Abby's child, lives there. She says police told her family the man denied knowing where Abby was, but other people close to him said she was in the area, which is growing her concerns.

“She’s feeling really frustrated not knowing like if people have seen her or if she’s okay," said Alcantara. "She’s been telling me as long as I get a text, or something, to let me know she’s okay.”

Sources in Ionia County told FOX 17 that investigators arrested the man overnight Thursday on a criminal sexual conduct warrant. It is not clear if that warrant is related to Abby's disappearance; although, her family says it is.

Alcantara hopes the arrest pushes people to speak up and help bring her daughter home.

“She wants to let her know that she’s always going to be there for her and that she would give anything for her," said Alcantara. "She just wants to know if she’s eating, if she has a bed to sleep, and if she has a roof over her head.”

Hernandez-Alcantara is described as being a 5’1” tall Hispanic teen with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about where Hernandez-Alcantara might be is asked to call the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office or Silent Observer at 1-877-88 SILENT (745368).

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