Amber alert issued for missing child from Walnut Hill, Fla.

Published 9:41 am Thursday, July 28, 2022

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UPDATE as of 11:45 a.m. July 29: Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (Fla.) officials said on their Facebook page that Brijido Manriquez-Ortiz, 43, is being charged with sexual assault on a victim under the age of 12. Ortiz is currently detained in Laredo, Texas, and will be extradited back to Escambia County to face charges.

UPDATE: The amber alert for a missing Walnut Hill, Fla. girl has been canceled, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (Fla.)

According to the ECSO’s Facebook page, Banesa Fernandez-Santis has been safely located. The announcement was posted at 3 p.m.

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An amber alert has been issued for Banesa Fernandez-Santis, who was last seen in the area of the 5600 block of Arthur Brown Road in Walnut Hill, Fla.

Fernandez-Santis has scars on her face, according to the Florida Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse.

The child may be in the company of Brijido Manriquez-Ortiz, 42, also of Walnut Hill.

Escambia County, Fla. Sheriff Chip Simmons said in a press conference this morning that Fernandez-Santis’ father discovered his daughter missing today after noticing a screen was cut and a note was discovered.

“That note indicated that she would be in the company of Manriquez-Ortis,” Simmons said.

Simmons said Ortis is an undocumented worker, and they believe at this point, that both are out of town, maybe in Atlanta, Ga. or Laredo, Texas.

Simmons said information has been sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), LAMAR for billboards and the FDLE.

Simmons said some two weeks ago, there was a building relationship between the kidnapper and the victim.

Simmons said the father was concerned when he saw Ortis and Fernandez-Santis allegedly in a kissing situation, and he immediately thought that wasn’t right, adding that the father drove Ortis to Atlanta after firing the suspect.

Simmons said the sheriff’s office doesn’t have a vehicle identification.

“We are looking for an 11 year old,” he said. “We are very concerned about her.”

Simmons said the victim and the kidnapper both worked at a farm in the north end of Escambia County, Fla.