The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is asking for the public’s help in locating a 16-year-old girl who disappeared from her Rancho Cucamonga home earlier this month.
Ebonie “Bella” Maxwell was last seen on April 11, according to a NCMEC missing child bulletin.
Felicia Maxwell, Bella’s mother, said that she and her daughter had spent the morning making smoothies and that the teen left for a walk at around 10:30 a.m.
“She was last seen at a nearby park soon after leaving, but the teen never returned home,” the bulletin stated.
Family members said that Bella’s disappearance is extremely out of character for her, raising serious concerns about her safety and wellbeing.
The 16-year-old is described as 5 foot 3 inches tall, weighing around 100 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.
“My sweet ‘baby girl’ Bella, you are loved, cared for, needed and wanted by all of your family and friends. We are missing you and praying for your safety and just desperately want you to return to us,” her mother said in a message released by NCMEC.
Authorities believe that Bella may not have left the local area and could be in either Los Angeles or Riverside counties.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts or disappearance is urged to contact NCMEC at 800-843-5678 or the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department at 909-387-8313.