At-risk 13-year-old reported missing from Ceres

Law enforcement agencies have put put on alert to a 13-year-old girl missing from Ceres since about noon Saturday.

Vanessa Zendejas is described at 5-foot-1, 110 pounds, with long black wavy hair. She wears black eyeglasses and has a mole on her right cheek and another above her lip.

“Our main concern is she might be with someone we don't know or an adult,” an aunt, Sandra Zendejas, posted on Facebook that night. “... We think she might still be in the Modesto area, but our worst fear is she might be in Monterey County area.”

Ceres police Sgt. Darren Venn said Vanessa apparently left home on her own accord and intentionally left her cell phone behind so family could not contact her. The family noticed a backpack missing, so figures she packed some clothing.

“According to the family ... she was on social media stating she was going to meet someone for the first time in the Salinas/Monterey County area or Santa Cruz area,” Venn said. “Also, there have been reports of her making threats of suicide. There is a lot of information going out on social media that was not indicated by the family in the initial report.”

Police have used tools including the APBnet Law Enforcement Alert System to activate a statewide alert, “really hitting Monterey County,” he said.

Anyone with information on Vanessa’s whereabouts is asked to call Ceres police at 209-538-5712 or their local law enforcement agency.

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 3:48 PM with the headline "At-risk 13-year-old reported missing from Ceres."