Florida Amber Alert Issued for Teenage Girl Missing Since 2019

She was last seen in October 2019, but on Friday night a Florida Amber Alert was issued for a 17-year-old girl who was missing in Chattanooga, Tennessee, due to what investigators call a case with ‘unique circumstances’.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Daphne Westbrook did not return in October 2019 from a weekend visit with her father, John Westbrook, who was not supervising. The agency states that authorities in Hamilton County Tennessee obtained a warrant for John Westbrook in June 2020, accusing him of interfering in custody.

The TBI said the following October that the teenager was posted on his website for missing children.

Recently, on February 23, 2021, a grand jury in Hamilton County charged John Westbrook with a serious kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of the 17-year-old.

‘We are now issuing our AMBER warning, because a warrant has been issued for a qualifying crime in Tennessee, and in the hope that the state – if evidence would place her and John in another state – an AMBER warning could reach out faster, ”the TBI said on Twitter.

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“We recently revealed information that she (Daphne Westbrook) is intoxicated and under the influence of alcohol,” said Neal Pinkston, Hamilton County District Attorney. “She has also expressed many recent suicidal thoughts and she has a history of self-mutilation.”

The most recent information in the search, the TBI said, was probably posted one week ago in Florida. The Hamilton County District Attorney said an observation was reported on March 6 in Fort Walton Beach. A witness also described a Volkswagen Beetle.

“The details of his vehicle have never been disclosed, and that has given us details about his vehicle,” Pinkston said.

Below is a photo of the 1971 Volkswagen Beetle in which the authorities said they were allowed to travel. It has no license plate or windshield.

Photo provided by Tennessee District Attorney.

Pinkston also believes they may have traveled to the Highlands County area, saying John Westbrook has a sister in the area. He said Westbrook is difficult to locate and is an IT and security expert.

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‘He kept his identity and her hidden through voice-over-IP phone numbers, email addresses and things like that, and he kept her hidden. ‘So if you ask the public if they saw her, probably because of what we did with the pandemic, they probably did not see her,’ Pinkston said.

Authorities believe John Westbrook may have traveled to the western United States with Daphne Westbrook. He has known contacts in Colorado, New Mexico, California and Washington.

“However, they can be anywhere,” the TBI wrote. “And over the past few weeks, evidence uncovered during the investigation into John Westbrook has led authorities to become increasingly concerned about Daphne’s well-being.”

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