UPDATE: 2 children missing since Wednesday morning are found OK, Modesto police say
9:15 A.M. UPDATE: The two Modesto children who’d not been seen since being dropped off at Roosevelt Junior High School on Wednesday morning have been found safe, the Modesto Police Department reported. No additional information was immediately provided.
ORIGINAL STORY: Modesto police are looking for two children who went missing and were last seen being dropped off at school on Wednesday morning.
Payten Burnett, 12, and David Portillo, 13, did not attend any of their classes at Roosevelt Junior High, which is at the corner of College and West Orangeburg avenues in central Modesto, according to the Modesto Police Department.
It’s believed they left the school together.
“They still have not returned or been located,” Sgt. Steve Hinkley said Thursday at 4:30 a.m. “We’re just waiting for additional tips. We don’t have any more leads. They left together. It was voluntary.”
Payten has blond hair with purple ends and was wearing a black sweatshirt, black jeans and Converse shoes. Police did not offer a description of David, nor the clothes he was wearing.
The department is following up on reports of possible sightings, spokeswoman Sharon Bear said in a text shortly before 7 a.m. And though it’s received no information indicating the children have left the area, outside agencies have been notified “through a system that shares photos and information — basically a ‘Be on the lookout’ type of message that sends fliers to agencies and hospitals.”
Anyone who has seen the two, or has any information related to the case, is asked to call the Modesto Police Department at 209-552-2470.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 4:33 AM.
