A search is underway for four missing children after their mother allegedly moved them out of their Los Angeles home in violation of a court order.
An AMBER Alert was issued for the children on Wednesday, September 30, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.
They were last seen leaving their Los Angeles residence with their mother, Mehrangez Sangalieva, near the 6600 block of Reseda Boulevard the evening of Saturday, September 26, police said.
The children include 9-year-old Anas Mirova, 5-year-old Zuhal Mirzoda, 2-year-old Maryam Mirova and 1-year-old Rayana Mirova, according to authorities.
Sangalieva, 31, is accused of going against a court order that prevented her from moving her children out of their home due to an ongoing investigation, police said. Authorities didn’t specify the details of the investigation.
According to police, Sangalieva is believed to possibly driving in a gray 2011 Toyota Prius, with the license plate: #6SWK678.
The Los Angeles Police Department shared photos of Sangalieva, Anas, Zuhul and Rayana. A photo wasn’t available for the woman’s 2-year-old child, Maryam.
Sangalieva is described as having brown hair, brown eyes, standing 5-foot-6 inches tall and weighing around 155 pounds.
Anas, her son and oldest child, has brown hair, brown eyes, is 4-foot-2 inches tall and weighs around 60 pounds, according to police. Her daughter, Zuhal, was only described as a 5-year-old female.
Maryam is described as having blonde hair, blue eyes, being 3-foot-tall and weighing around 50 pounds.
The youngest child, Rayana, was described as a 1-year-old weighing around 20 pounds.
The California Highway Patrol shared an Endangered Missing Advisory alert for the children on X on Tuesday, September 29.
The alert is issued to law enforcement agencies “investigating the suspicious disappearance of at-risk missing children or other endangered persons,” according to California Highway Patrol.
The Los Angeles Police Department asks anyone with information on the children’s whereabouts to call the agency’s West Valley Division at (818) 374-7611.
In the U.S., an estimated 840,000 children are reported as missing annually, according to the Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center.
Roughly half of missing children cases involving child abduction involve a family member, the center reports online.
“Family abduction is typically committed by parents and it involves a significantly higher proportion of female perpetrators when compared to other kidnapping offenses,” the center notes.
