California authorities issued an AMBER Alert for a 15-year-old girl who disappeared with two people wanted in connection with a murder on Tuesday.
According to a statement by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau, Alora Benitez was last seen on April 17, at around 9 a.m. in Torrance. The teen was with her mother, 40-year-old Maricela Mercado and a man identified as 39-year-old Roman Cerratos.
Mercado and Cerratos are wanted by police in connection to the murder of a man found deceased in a white Audi on Tuesday. The victim, whose name is disclosed, was found in Carson, off of East Carson Plaza Drive.
“Alora Benitez’s mother and the adult male are murder suspects in an investigation of a male who was found dead in the front seat of a White Audi that was parked behind 400 Block of East Carson Plaza Drive in the city Carson on (Tuesday),” police said.
Family members told police that they’re worried about the girl’s safety.
Police said Cerratos and Mercado should be considered armed and dangerous. They were last seen driving a white 2013 BMW sedan with Nevada license plate, “MARIMAR.”
Cerratos is a Hispanic male who stands 6-foot-1, weighs 210 pounds, and has brown eyes and a bald head. Mercado is a Hispanic female who stands 5-foot-3 and weighs around 130 pounds She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information is urged to call the LASD Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
[Feature Photo: Alora Benitez/Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau]
