CLINTON — Police continued Thursday to look for the subjects of an Amber Alert issued late Wednesday — an infant child and the birth mother who allegedly took her.
Officers are looking for Taylor Cheylene Webb, 25, and her 3-week-old daughter, Audrey Westfall. Police believe Audrey was at her grandmother’s house in Clinton when she was taken by Webb. The last confirmed sighting of Webb and Audrey in Clinton was about 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to Clinton police.
Audrey was reported as missing about 5 p.m. An Amber Alert was issued at 10:41 p.m. Clinton Police Lt. Shawn Stoker said the delay was due in part to detectives trying to collect and collaborate evidence, including contacting other police jurisdictions out of state, after hours.
The Utah Department of Public Safety on Thursday was also looking into why some Utahns who wanted to help Wednesday night had trouble finding out what and who they should be looking for.
After getting an Amber Alert notification that didn’t include a vehicle description and told people to call 511 for more information, many who called the number were met with a busy signal due to the high volume of calls.
One of those people, Xavier Mendoza, of Roy, said he was eating dinner with his girlfriend when they both got the alert. He tried to call 511, but received a busy signal. He ended up finding out more information on Facebook.
The way alerts are set up now, the notification defaults to telling people to call 511 if there is no vehicle description, according to Marissa Cote, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety. Going forward, the department will look into whether that system is the best option, Cote said.
“Fortunately, we don’t issue Amber Alerts every day, or even weekly, so when an Amber Alert is sent, we’re learning,” Cote said.
Webb does not have custodial rights to her child, according to police. The grandmother has court-ordered guardianship.
One of the criteria for an Amber Alert to be issued in Utah is whether the victim is “believed to be facing imminent danger, serious bodily injury or death,” according to the Department of Public Safety’s website.
“We feel this baby may be in danger. We want to verify that she is safe, that all parties are safe,” said Stoker.
Stoker said it is the “totality” of the situation that makes detectives believe the infant is in danger. Part of that included the winter weather Wednesday night that the mother and child could have potentially been driving through, he said.
Webb is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighs 130 pounds and has dark hair. She wears glasses and has a tattoo on her collar bone with the words “Exhale the negative” on one side and “Inhale the positive” on the other. She was last seen wearing a grey zip-up jacket, black yoga pants and black-and-white Aviva shoes.
“It is believed that they are currently en route to the Modesto, California, area by unknown means at this time,” Clinton police stated.
Anyone with information about Audrey or anyone who has spotted the mother and daughter is asked to call 911 or 801-451-4141.
Contributing: Mike Anderson